


A Corrupted Soul

by bonniedog



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Corrupted Steven Theory, Corrupted Steven Universe, Corruption, Little Homeworld, Monsters, Spoilers, Steven Universe Future, Steven needs therapy, Wormy Boi, starts with the audio leak, su gone wrong
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:22:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22354795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bonniedog/pseuds/bonniedog
Summary: Steven's been so busy trying to solve other people's problems that he's ignored his own- until what's broken can't be ignored any longer.Story begins with the "Leave Me Alone" Audio leak released this January.
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran & Steven Universe
Comments: 84
Kudos: 456





	1. Leave Me Alone

“How could this happen? You crushed the van with Greg inside?!”  
Pearl stared at Steven with condescending eyes.  
“You know how fragile he is. These pink outbursts of yours are getting out of hand.”

“It’s not aN OUTBURST!” Yelled Steven, clenching his fists.

“See? This is exactly what I’m talking about! What’s happening to you?”

“Nothing! It’s… nothing.”

He turned away, brushing off her concern. He’d barely taken a step when he felt a stiff hand grab his shoulder.

“Steven, where are you going?” Pearl shrieked. “We’re not through talking about thi- Ah!”  
A dark pink wall formed between them, knocking Pearl back several feet. She huffed.

“STEVEN! Drop this wall!” She demanded.

“Ah! Pearl- I’m sorry. I just… need… some space, okay? I’ll be in my room.”

Amethyst stepped between them: “Not so fast my dude. You gotta tell us what’s going on.”

Steven glanced between Amethyst, then Pearl, then Garnet. Tinted pink by the rapidly shrinking wall around him, he couldn’t tell if the warped, hungry appearance of their faces was caused by the pink tint of the wall or of the anger in their features that was so rarely directed at him.

Behind the barrier, Garnet crossed her arms. “It looks like Steven’s trying to avoid discussion about this altogether.”

Steven took a ragged breath, then bellowed:  
“NO! I’M NOT!!!”

The room gave a shudder, and the Gems struggled to stay upright.  
“Steven!” Garnet shouted. “You have got to calm down and talk to us about this.”

“Just chill man…” whined Amethyst.

Steven clamped shut his eyes and held his head in his hands.

“We need to do something about this, before someone gets hurt!” Pearl started.

His head was spinning. He felt like it was going to explode.

“Don’t let this power control you. You’re better than this.” Garnet pushed.

**“rrRRRRGHL LEAVE ME ALONE!!”**

A massive wave of pink light exploded from Steven’s gem, shattering the windows and vaporizing the floorboards underneath him.  
Pearl’s mouth made a wide ‘o’ shape a millisecond before her form burst and her gem clattered to the floor beside the others’.

Steven covered his head as the roof buckled above him and the floor caved beneath him. Shards of wood and paneling bounced off of the bubble around him as Steven stared ahead at the four gemstones rattling on the floor in front of him.

Steven lifted his head from his hands to see the four stones begin to slide towards the widening pit in the center of the room. Steven gasped. With a pop of his bubble, he dashed towards the chasm to grab the gems as they slid forward.

“What is wrONG with me?!” He asked the empty, collapsing room.

“Why can’t I control this power? Why is this happening now?” He cried as Amethyst slid into his hand.  
“I’ve finally convinced Homeworld that I’m not Rose... that I’m not Pink... but now I’m becoming more like her than ever!”  
His pink glow brightened as he cradled Pearl in his other fist.

“Why... why...”

He stuttered as Ruby and Sapphire inched closer to the gap.

“WhY CAN’T I JUST MOVE ON?”

He sobbed, as the Ruby, then the Sapphire, slipped through the hole and out into the cold morning air.  
Steven screamed and reached out, accidentally letting go of Amethyst and Pearl in the process. He yelped as the purple gem glinted painfully off of the rocks below.

Steven stood, dumbfounded, on the edge of the pit, staring down towards the beach below.  
He moved forwards, about to jump through after the gems, when a fleck of white caught his eye. A shining white moth drifted and circled around his head, slowly... taunting him.

“You’re losing your touch.” It hummed.

His head pounded. Another moth emerged from the holes… er… one massive hole that used to be the ceiling.

“You weak, sappy, useless piece of dirt” it growled.

Steven winced, and fell to his knees. More moths slipped through the floorboards, surrounding him with their eerie white glow.

“You think everyone needs help.” One says.  
“You’re the one that needs help.” chimes another.  
“It’s you, you, YOU.” they chirp in unison.

“I JUST WANT TO FIX THIS!” Steven began to scream, but the words caught in his throat. He gasped, then choked, as hundreds of glowing moths burst from his throat.

“If you don’t give people room to grow, you’ll suffocate them!”  
“Why do you need to be needed?”  
“Why do you always hurt the ones you love?”

Steven wailed as his nails dug into his palms. Blood was running down his nose and arms but the pain was nothing compared to the pounding in his head.

“NO ONE NEEDS YOU ANYMORE!”  
“YOU’RE NOTHING WITHOUT YOUR FRIENDS”  
“THEY’RE ALL GONE.”  
“AND IT’S ALL. YOUR. FAULT.”

Steven screamed and collapsed on what remained of the floorboards. It felt like his insides were on fire.The pink glow emanating from his hands and face darkened and spread out in splotchy waves across his body. He bawled as his spine began to buckle and warp, the sickening crack of his ribs echoing through his skull.

There was no fixing this. He did this to himself.

Steven looked around frantically for an escape, but it was getting harder to see with the blood and tears in his eyes. He tried to wipe them away, only to find that his arm was dark pink and covered in vicious spikes. He needed help… he just needed to find Garnet… or Pearl.

His mind lapsed. Where were the gems? He couldn’t remember- only that he’d done something very, very bad. They weren’t coming to help him. Not now, not ever.

Horns pierced through his forehead, sending another wave of pain and nausea through his body. Half- stumbling, half-dragging himself to where the porch used to be, Steven looked out over the horizon towards the rapidly setting sun.

He needed to find…  
He needed...  
H..e...  
...

The sun had set, and Steven Universe was gone.

The skeleton of his home sat silently in the palm of the cliff. Far below, four gemstones sparkled in the moonlight.

The only sounds to be heard were the swaying of palms in the breeze, and the thud of footsteps far too large to be human.


	2. The Message

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie leaves Steven a voicemail. Then another. Then another. 
> 
> Meanwhile, a strange creature gets used to its new surroundings.

**Chapter 2: New Message**

_ You have (5) new messages.  _

_ ~BEEP~ _

_ “Hey Steven! This is Connie. How are things going with you and the gems? I’m sorry I’ve been so preoccupied with college preparation lately. You know how it can be- you founded one after all! Heh. _

_ Anyways, it’s been a while since we’ve talked so… I figured I’d give you a ring. Feel free to call me back when you get the chance! _

_ ~BEEP~ _

_ “Oh! Sorry to call again so soon, Steven- but if you have Pearl’s new cell phone number, I would love to have it. I may be training my mind for the SAT’s but that doesn’t mean I have to stop training my awesome sword fighting skills! Maybe we could even train as Stevonnie again?” _

_ “...This is Connie, by the way.” _

_ ~BEEP~ _

_ Hey buddy! _

_ It’s your dear old dad here.  _

_ I’m sure you and the gems are out spreading peace across the galaxy somewhere, but I just wanted to check in to see if Pearl may have forgotten about our lesson today.  _

_ I don’t mind of course! - But… she never showed, so I figured I oughta check in with you guys to make sure everything’s peachy. Sorry to be such a worrywort.  _

_...And uh, Steven?  _

_ Don’t be afraid to give your old man a call every once in a while. I miss ya, schtew-ball.  _

_ ~BEEP~ _

_ “Hi Steven, Connie again. I figured I’d probably get your voicemail again, with all the things you have on your plate but… it’d really be great to hear from you...” _

_ “...I miss you.” _

_ ~BEEP~ _

_ “Hey. It’s Connie…” _

_ “Is everything okay?” _

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun was hot and bright, but under the canopy of leaves, the center of the forest was a cool oasis. The gentle chirping of birds and squirrels drifted through the air, interrupted only by the occasional rustle of breeze, or the quiet footsteps of a fawn. A great oak- a hundred years old at least- stood proudly in the center of the clearing. With a strong trunk and bright, healthy leaves, the oak was sure to stand another century…

...That was, until the tail of a frantic, two-ton pink beast slammed into its trunk.

The creature yelped and scampered out of the way of the giant tree as it creaked its final protest before crashing to the forest floor. For a few moments, everything stilled - as if the beast feared the tree might jump to life once more - but the splintered wood only laid pitifully in the grass.

Slowly, the creature moved forward to sniff the branches. They did not sniff back. 

Finally deciding that the oak had less than a 25% chance of attacking him, the pink giant let out a huff and looked up to examine its surroundings. 

Behind the beast laid the evidence of a terrified rampage through the woods: felled trees and crumpled shrubbery laid trampled and broken for miles along its haphazard path. A squirrel cautiously pushed its way out from a pile of leaves and branches, its nose twitching anxiously. The animal took a few steps out of the brush before turning its head and spotting the great pink creature. It squealed and scampered away. 

On the opposite side of the clearing stood a few trees that had been spared, standing stoically despite the rose-colored monster in front of them. The beast pondered the foliage for a moment, its rapidly beating heart finally beginning to slow. With no obvious enemy in sight, the creature let out an exhausted snort, circled twice, and lowered itself to its haunches. 

Lifting its giant head, the thing gazed up through the clearing the felled oak had made in the canopy, and into the sky above. Great tufts of white highlighted the brilliant blue of the sky. The sun sparkled through the gap, reflecting off of the iridescent spines on the creature’s back and shoulders. 

The creature shut its eyes. 

For a moment, with its eyes closed and spines relaxed, the creature looked harmless. Gentle, even. 

For a moment, Steven almost felt like himself. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steven woke up in his bed. He blinked, processing his surroundings. 

The beachouse was exactly as it always was, stairs leading from his loft down towards the living room and kitchen. The floor and ceiling were intact, he noted.

_...Why wouldn’t they be..?  _

Lifting himself from bed, he stopped for a moment. His head was spinning. He licked his lips, a touch of nausea filling him with unease. 

_ It’s probably nothing,  _ He assured himself.  _ I don’t get sick. _

Waiting a moment for his head to clear, Steven examined the pictures around his room. There was a polaroid of Connie, smiling widely from his shelf. On his wall hung a few pictures: a bright purple poster of Sadie Killer and the suspects; some memorabilia from a few video games he played and replayed long ago. The silly painting Vidalia made of him and Garnet. Hm... where  _ was _ Garnet? 

Steven shuffled down the stairs and looked around. No sign of Pearl washing the dishes or folding laundry. No sign of Amethyst - Steven figured that he would’ve heard her if she had already left for the day. No sign of Garnet.

Steven puzzled for a moment. Where was everyone? Of course, the gems could all be in their rooms - but they each had claimed a role working at little Homeschool, and as far as Steven knew, they should have been up and getting ready by this time.

“Hello..?” He inquired to the empty house.

The room was silent save but the gentle clicking of his Cookie Cat clock.

“Amethyst? Pearl?”

He sighed. Maybe it was a good thing he had the house to himself. After the argument he had with the gems yesterday…

_...wait, what argument? _

He shuddered, a wave of anguish passing over him. 

He felt awful, but couldn’t remember why. 

Steven took a deep breath. Maybe a little fresh air would help. He took a step over to the front porch door, but paused when his hand touched the knob. His head hurt - a lot.

_ Maybe he really was sick…? _

It wasn’t impossible, he supposed. And it’s not like he had anything better to do, now that his stint running Little Homeschool had ended. 

He took his hand off the knob, and slowly made his way back up to bed. It wouldn’t hurt to rest a little more, would it? 

If the gems really needed him, they would wake him up, he figured. 

He smiled. They were always so thoughtful. 


	3. The Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie's tired of her messages going unanswered, and decides to investigate the situation herself. She's troubled by what she finds.

_ You have (8) new messages.  _

_ ~BEEP~ _

_ “Heey… Steven. Connie here. I- um…  _

_ Call me back, will you?” _

_ ~BEEP~ _

_ “Steven. Please don’t ignore me. If something’s wrong, you know that I’ll always be available to listen. If you don’t want to talk about whatever’s been bothering you, that’s fine. At least call me to let me know that you’re okay.”  _

_ ~BEEP~ _

_ “Steven, I called your dad. He hasn’t been able to reach you or the gems for nearly three days. What is going on?”  _

_ ~BEEP~ _

_ “That’s it. I’m coming over.”  _

  
  


\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

__

Connie stared up in horror at the ruined shell of the beach house. The wooden structure sagged in the palm of the cliff, pitiful and deflated. Large panels of the walls had been ripped off and were laying dejectedly on the sand far below. The roof was nowhere to be seen. With the walls gone and the rooms visible from the outside, the house almost reminded Connie of a giant dollhouse...though it was more of a nightmare than a dream home. 

This was why Steven hadn’t returned her calls. Connie scolded herself for waiting so long to investigate. She gulped.

“Steven?” She called out. 

“Pearl? Garnet? Are you here?”

The empty beach replied only with the gentle lapping of the waves upon the shoreline. Connie sighed. Whatever had happened here, the gems must have already left in pursuit of the perpetrator. 

She checked her phone. Still no new notifications from Steven. After all the conversations she’d had with him about leaving her out of gem business, she was surprised no word had come from him yet. 

Something didn’t add up. 

Gripping her new sword, Connie crept towards the wreckage. The steps up to the porch were damaged, but passable. The same could not be said for the living room floor. When she reached the top of the steps, Connie stared out into what was more of a glorified woodpile than a home. From the spot where she stood, the planks that remained of the birch floor slanted down, ending in ragged splinters around a gaping hole. Through the crater, Connie could see the cliff edge and the beach far below. 

She shivered. Whatever did this must have been incredibly powerful. The only other time she could remember the house looking like this was back when the diamonds…

She shook her head. The diamonds had already learned their lesson- and if anything were  _ overprotective  _ of Steven these days. Like nearly everyone who came to Earth with the intention to fight, they came around once they got to know him. Practically everyone did. In all likelihood, she thought, the rogue gem who did this was already on Steven’s good side and was on their way back to the beach house that very minute to apologize for what they’d done. 

She wished she was better at convincing herself that was true. 

Connie looked up to see what remained of Steven’s bedroom, which had collapsed in a heap in the palm of Obsidian’s statue. One of his sheets dangled from a splintered railing, fluttering lightly in the breeze. Connie’s breath caught in her throat as she imagined what might have happened to her friend. Horrible 'what-if’s' clouded her mind: What if Bluebird had returned for vengeance, this time with backup? What if a mutated gem monster burst through the window and gobbled him up as he slept? What if White Diamond had somehow decided she didn’t like the whole ‘being a good gem’ thing and came to kidnap ‘Pink’ after all? What if… what if...

“No!” 

Connie shook the troubling thoughts from her mind. 

“Steven is okay.” she assured herself. “...He probably just… lost his phone during battle- a battle that he won!”

_ “...And didn’t tell you about it?” _ Nagged a voice in the back of her head. 

Connie pulled her phone out of her pocket, staring at the empty screen for a moment before unlocking it and hitting redial once more. The ringback tone buzzed. She waited, hoping that Steven would  _ pick up, pick up, pick up.  _ She jumped when she heard a buzz coming from the house. Steven’s cell phone rang meekly on the floor next to a crumpled dresser. 

“N _ o no no! _ ” Connie whined, as she hung up. She got down on her knees and began to carefully crawl towards the cell phone. 

_ He’s fine!  _ She thought. 

She picked up the phone.

_ He’s probably with the Crystal Gems right now, defeating whatever destroyed his house!  _

She gazed up warily at the caved- in ceiling.

_ He was just... in too much of a hurry to pick up his phone! _ She reassured herself. 

He was Steven Universe, savior of the galaxy after all. He’d survived worse than this. Like everything else he’d endured, he’d make it through this as well. She sighed. It was too bad the universe couldn’t give him a break every once in a while, though.  Connie made it back to the door’s edge, relieved to be on relatively solid ground once again. She stood up and returned her sword to its sheath. Now that she was here, she figured she may as well look for clues.

“Hmmm….” 

She pursed her lips.  _ Where to start…?  _

She squinted, surveying the toppled house once more. Aside from the gaping hole in the floor and Steven’s abandoned cell phone, there didn’t seem to be many more useful clues in the ruins of the house. She wasn’t sure she wanted to risk breaking a board and falling onto the rocks below, either. She hummed. So far, no explanations were jumping to mind. 

She wondered what the detectives from her favorite books all had in common. Was it their cool hats? She realized with dismay that she hadn’t brought the detective hat that her father had given her stakeout with him and Steven years ago. Oh well. 

A pipe? Like Sherlock Holmes? Goodness knows her mother wouldn’t let her near one. 

Perhaps... a monocle? Connie brightened, setting her bag down and unzipping the back pocket. 

Yes! The frames from her old glasses were still there. She put them on, then frowned. Put them on again. Then, she removed them, tilting them 90 degrees, until she could close one eye and peer through one lensless frame. Perfect. 

Connie looked around. The stairs appeared normal, but the porch where she was standing bowed inwards, like something very heavy had weighed it down. Deep scratch marks carved their way from what was left of the flooring up to the porch. 

_ Could this have been a gem monster?  _

She pondered. 

_ But… after Steven got the help of the diamonds, he healed all of the corrupted gems, didn’t he?  _

Connie supposed it was entirely possible that one had slipped under their radar. Corruptions were akin to wild animals, after all. It’s not like they _ knew _ there was anything wrong with them; not like they came running to the healing fountain once the universe had been saved. 

Connie made her way down the stairs, squinting in the sunlight. Leading away from the porch were her own footsteps, clear in the sand. But a little ways off, much less clearly, something else had made a trail. Leaning down to get a closer look, she noticed the faint outline of… pawprints? 

That was impossible. The prints were larger than those of any gem monster she had seen before. Staring in wonder at the giant imprint, Connie was _ not  _ expecting to suddenly hear the whooshing, twinkling sound of a gem reforming. With surprise, she leapt to her feet and drew her sword. Grasping the hilt, she turned towards the cliff to see a purple gemstone rise from the ground. A shining white figure materialized, shifting and changing forms before her eyes. But then… the form began to glitch. And warp. The gem shook, before clattering back down onto the rocky sand. 

Cautiously, Connie approached the mountainside. She glanced warily up at the precariously perched house above her before pushing her way through the splintered furniture ahead. Twinkling at Connie from the rocks, the purple gemstone laid still. 

“Is that… Amethyst!?” Connie gasped, rushing forwards to pick up the stone. She flinched as she felt the large crack on the back of the gem. Connie delicately touched the fracture. The damage to Amethyst’s gem must’ve kept her from reforming, Connie thought. She’d almost certainly be back, otherwise. 

“Who... did this to you?” Connie whispered. 

Abandoning her makeshift monocle, Connie dropped to her knees and began to dig around the wreckage. If Amethyst was here, Pearl and Garnet were likely to be as well. Next to the heap of twisted metal and plastic that used to be Steven’s TV, Connie caught a glimmer of blue. 

Sapphire. Connie picked up the blue stone and examined it for damage. When she was sure the gem was free of damage, she pocketed the gem and continued to dig around the shards of TV screen. 

“Ouch!” She winced, picking a piece of broken glass out of her palm. She sucked the wound, a dot of red peering up at her through the sand. She had to be more careful, she scolded. She couldn’t afford to hurt herself, especially if there was a vicious gem monster on the loose she might have to fight. The red spot on the ground continued to shine. Connie paused. 

“Is that… Ruby!” 

Connie let out a whoop of relief and carefully placed the red gem in her pocket, along with the Sapphire. Now the only gem left to find was Pearl. It took the longest to find her gem. Nearly another half hour of frustrated searching and digging passed before Connie finally caught sight of Pearl’s milky white gem, which blended in almost seamlessly with the sand. 

Connie stared at her mentor’s gem, her face knotted in concern. 

“If only I could just _talk_ to you.”  She thought aloud.

“If I knew what happened to you, I’d know where to go from here.”

She turned the gem in her hand, examining it for cracks. She was still looking down when the snap of a plank behind her caught her attention.

Connie froze. A glint of pink fur flashed in the corner of her eye. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself in the case that she needed to run or fight. Something behind her chuffed, and she heard the thump of heavy footsteps padding ever closer. Connie braced herself, and slowly turned around.

Lion stared at her with befuddled eyes. 

“Lion!” She cried, wrapping his mane in a warm hug. “You scared me half to death, you doofus!” 

The feline nuzzled his head into her shoulder affectionately. He moaned softly, lifting his head towards the rubble.

“Shh.” Connie purred into his mane. “It’s okay buddy. We’re gonna find Steven. I know it. All we need is a little help.”

She gazed up past the mountain-top, beyond which the tip of Little Homeworld’s central tower spun. 

“And I know just where to find it.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOf! 
> 
> Sorry for the delay between chapters two and three. School has been kicking my behind, but things should be chugging along in the coming weeks! 
> 
> Now that I've figured out where I want this story to go, I've actually got the motivation to write. 
> 
> Comments and kudos are, as always, much appreciated! Constructive criticism is welcomed as well. Let me know how I can improve YOUR reading experience!   
> heh.


	4. The Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time has come for a sacrifice to be made.

Summer was here, which meant the time had come for a sacrifice to be made.

Five masked figures silently circled in the forest clearing, closing in as they performed their ceremonial dance. Under the shroud of darkness the tree shade provided, the troupe turned and swayed. 

The figures reached out their arms. Five pairs of hands stretched towards the center of the sacrificial ring, cupping their prizes inside. The air seemed to buzz with energy, growing to a peak before the smallest member of the bunch raised his hand. The group froze. With his other hand, the tiny figure pulled away his mask to reveal a pale face...

Onion grinned at his friends. 

Throwing his mask to the side, Onion gently unclenched his fist to reveal a shiny black stag beetle, which opened and closed its pincers hawkishly. The remaining masked children leaned forward, examining the insect. The beetle snapped angrily at them. Onion shook his head good naturedly, and closed his fist. 

The second member to step forward was Squash, who carefully pulled his mask off over his fluffy black hair. Gently, he inched his fingers apart to reveal a startlingly green grasshopper. The creature peeked through Squash’s fingers with beady eyes, searching for a method of escape. Onion peered sideways, smiling at the wily creature. Squash quickly re-closed his hand. 

Garbanzo was next. With a grin, and a hearty “garBANZO!”, He dangled a worm above the circle for the gang to admire. It squirmed, ugly and pink in the sunlight. Squash let out a puff of laughter, taking a few steps back from the wriggling thing. 

“Gar. Ban-zo!” 

... Garbanzo concluded, with a satisfied grunt. 

Soup shook her head at Garbanzo’s antics, then set down her mask. She glanced around wryly at the others for a moment before lifting the pot off her head to reveal a shining firefly- a rare catch for this time of day. Squash and Garbanzo gasped, admiring the creature’s glow. The firebug blinked and glimmered, confused by the sudden change from dark to light. Soup beamed, and replaced her hat once more. 

The four maskless children peered expectantly towards the remaining figure, who hung back, face still shrouded in shadow by the trees on the edge of the circle. 

Onion beckoned encouragingly. 

Finally, Pinto stepped forward. With a shock of bright red hair that kept escaping from their ribbons and a hefty pair of yellow galoshes, Pinto - the youngest member of the group- now stood taller than Onion himself. She studied the faces around her with a mix of anticipation and doubt. The faces of her friend shined back with only encouragement. 

Finally, she unfolded her hands to reveal a bright orange citrus moth, shining brilliantly in the sunlight. The moth’s striking orange feathers, contrasted with the dark spots mottling its wingtips pegged it as a particularly dazzling specimen. 

Pinto looked up from her prize to see the wide eyes and awestruck expressions on her friends’ faces. She sighed in relief, and finally allowed herself to relax. She had won. 

Onion made a sound of excitement and shifted to remove his backpack. From his bag he removed a mallet and a piece of cloth. The five friends nodded to each other, before embarking on their quest to find the perfect surface.

Fanning out, the children dodged branches and leaped over stones as they searched for a tree stump or smooth spot; perhaps an especially smooth boulder. The breeze blew gently through the leaves; a pleasant guide at their backs as they explored the wilderness. 

Soon a sound came from the Westernmost side of their circle. 

“Garbanzo!” Garbanzo bellowed.

Four heads popped up from the greenery and soon the group reconvened around the  _ perfect _ natural table. A freshly felled oak lay wilted in the clearing, its branches splayed out across the forest floor. Onion smiled and laid the cloth over the bark. 

Pinto unclasped her hands again, gently placing the moth upon the napkin, and looked up expectantly towards Onion. He lifted the mallet over the unsuspecting creature, hands steady and prepared to strike. 

The moth flapped its wings passively. As far as the moth knew, it was having a lovely day. 

How peculiar it must be to live as a creature with no sense of its looming mortality. 

Onion gripped the mallet, and began to swing. Suddenly, the ground rumbled beneath them, and the hammer slipped from his hand. Startled, the moth spread its wings and took off, fluttering back into the canopy from whence it came. Disappointed, the children looked around to see what had caused such a racket. 

Onion gestured to the group to split up and investigate. Soup began to search through the passages between the pines. Garbanzo dove into the bushes. Pinto left in search of her lost prize. Soon, everyone but Onion had abandoned the clearing on their quest. Onion scanned his surroundings with wide eyes. 

Nothing looked to be out of place. Aside from the felled oak, the trees stood as tall and stiff as ever. The grass swayed gently in the breeze, which carried the faint smell of roses from gardens far inland. The boulders shone brightly in the sunlight, grey and brown and… pink? 

As his friends explored the scenery, Onion approached what appeared to be the strangest rocky outcropping he’d ever seen. Sharp pink crystals jutted out from darker fuschia rocks- stones unlike any he had ever seen before. Onion gripped his hammer. The ground began to rumble again. It was almost as if the boulder was… snoring? 

Onion gasped in surprise as the boulder began to split. No… it began to open. A giant eye, twice the size of his whole body opened wide and bored into him. He could see his reflection, staring back in awe from the shiny black sclera. 

Onion dropped the mallet and displayed his empty hands in submission. The eye blinked in response. He glanced around. His friends, each busy investigating their own corners of the clearing, were still preoccupied. None of them had noticed Onion’s alarm. 

Without taking his eyes off of the boulder, he slowly reached into his backpack. The creature lifted its head, curious. Both eyes now stared down at the child, intrigued but not afraid. Onion exhaled, careful to keep his movements slow and controlled. 

He removed a bag of CHAAPS, which crinkled in his hands. The monster watched as he broke the seal and removed a chip. With a tiny hand, Onion reached forward and offered the treat to the creature.

Head now towering over the child, the beast sniffed at the chip. It looked at Onion, then at the chip, then back at Onion again. Onion made a frustrated sound and opened his mouth, miming the action of eating. The beast seemed to understand. Leaning forward, it took the chip gently in its mouth. The boy smiled wide. 

Suddenly, a crash echoed through the woods. Soup had tripped over a log, and her metal soup-pot hat clattered noisily to the rocks below. The creature leapt to its feet in terror, shaking the ground so hard that Onion lost his balance, collapsing hard onto his back. Eyes wide, he crawled backwards as the beast bellowed and roared. 

With one last snarl, the monster took off down the trail from whence it came. Kicking up dirt and roots, it careened into trees and stumps without a care. The hard cracks of falling pines reverberated through the clearing. Onion simply watched in astonishment as the rumbling gallop became more and more distant, until the ground finally stilled and the beast was out of sight. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blargh! 
> 
> I've been fussing over getting this chapter right the whole weekend, but with a little help from @JoSoars I was able to get it to a point I was willing to post! More should be coming soon :) 
> 
> (P.S. Please be aware of third party apps that charge subscription fees for free fan-created content found on AO3. I'm making this for free and my intention in writing this is for y'all to enjoy it for free as well! Please be mindful, respect creators, and stick to AO3 for reading these fics. Thanks!)


	5. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans always seem so perfect on paper. Unfortunately, life has its way of throwing its own complications in the mix.

Business was humming in the heart of Little Homeworld. 

With little Homeschool out of session for the summer, gems bustled to and fro on their way to build new creations at the forge, create art and music in the halls, and grow new life in the surrounding fields. Rubies marched in step, looking out for any trouble. Several Agates shoved each other playfully before taking off towards the volleyball courts at the beach. A pair of Nephrites chatted happily as they meandered down the sidewalk.

Even freckles, one of the bustling community’s newest members, was finding her place. 

“So meep morp is kinda like... well you just make a miep…. Er… A piece of morp that means something to you!” 

Peridot gestured wildly before the bewildered lapis lazuli.

“Here! I’ll give you an example.” She exclaimed. 

Peridot narrowed her eyes and threw her arms in front of her, concentrating on a piece of metal piping left behind from some recent construction. The pipe began to wiggle and shudder. Finally, the heavy metal piece lifted off the ground and crept over towards the two gems. Peridot cackled. With the pipe still hanging in the air, Peridot nodded over to freckles. 

“Now you add something!” She goaded. 

Freckles tilted her head. She looked around for something to manipulate. A sidewalk, recently built and still tacky with wet concrete laid beside them. She grinned, and held out her arms. The sticky concrete stretched and lengthened until a hefty bubble snapped off into the air. Careful not to spill the drops onto the grass, freckles levitated the blob over to the floating pipe.

“Hmm..” She mumbled, the concrete bubble still rippling in the air. 

Finally, her eyes lit up and she molded the orb into the shape of a spear-tip and lowered it onto the end of the tube. Peridot studied the creation. She squinted, then turned her head to the side. She blinked, and a massive grin spread across her face. 

“That’s perfect!” She squeaked, turning to smile at freckles. 

“You can really feel the passion, the fury, the… intensity that this piece emits! Of course, I’d expect nothing less from you, given that you’ve got the best teacher in the galaxy!” 

Freckles shrugged, a small smile creeping onto her face.

“So… now what?” She asked. 

Peridot thought for a moment. 

“To the best of my estimates, we should only have to hold our miep-morp together like this for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours for the concrete to set. After that, we can put it on displa- yah-AAAgh!” 

Peridot stumbled as a portal burst open in the center of the square. Lion leaped from the portal as the sculpture Peridot and Freckles had just finished tumbled onto the pavement. Connie gasped and whipped around to face the two gems whose afternoon she’d interrupted. If Peridot was any color other than green, she’d’ve been red in the face. 

“HeeEY! Watch where you’re going!” Peridot squealed, waving her arms towards the mound of concrete and metal beside them. 

“Peridot!” Connie exclaimed.

“Thank goodness you’re here! Do you know where Lapis and Bismuth are?” 

Peridot frowned. 

“They’re in the forge…? Heyyy!! Why are you in so much of a hurry anyways?!” 

Connie looked around, then reached into her pockets. She revealed the four gems; Ruby, Sapphire, Pearl, and Amethyst- the last of which was sporting a nasty crack down the side. 

“GaAaAaAAaAHHH!” Peridot shrieked. 

“What did you do to Amethyst?!?” 

Connie guffawed.

“I didn’t do this, Peridot! I found them like this! Steven’s house is destroyed… I…”

She grit her teeth.

“...I’m not sure where he is, or whether he’s safe at all. I need Bismuth and Lapis’ help.”

Connie looked down at the little green gem, whose anger quickly evaporated. 

“I need your help too.” She concluded. 

Peridot’s eyes widened. Steven needed help- and she was going to provide some. 

“What are you waiting for? Jump on!” Connie said, holding a hand out to Peridot.

Peridot looked over at her new student, whose interest was piqued, to say the least. 

“I’ll erm… pick up our lesson next week!” Peridot shouted, before grabbing Connie’s hand and scrambling up onto Lion’s back. Lion roared and set off down the road. Within seconds, the three disappeared down a side road, leaving freckles in a cloud of dust and dumbfoundment. 

Freckles waited until she could no longer hear the pounding footfalls of the lion, then finally let out her breath.

_Gee whiz._ She thought. She had no idea that life at Little Homeworld could be this exciting. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  
  


Steven tossed and turned. 

_It hurts it hurts what’s wrong with me why does it hurt so much?!?_

Steven clutched his head.

_The pain won’t stop it wont stop PLEASE STOP!_

Steven opened his eyes, the walls of the room coming into focus around him. Something was wrong- where… Where was he? 

The room spun. 

Steven sat up, wincing as the spots cleared from his vision. So many thoughts and colors were swarming in his head, it seemed like the walls themselves were swirling and shifting. He placed a trembling foot to the floor. It flexed and shifted beneath his heels. Steven groaned, and shakily managed to push himself to a standing position. 

He needed someone… he needed….

Steven paused. Who was he thinking of? Vague images of gems and humans swirled through his mind, crashing into one another and combining until nothing made sense. 

He winced. Concentrating too hard on anything sent waves of pain through his already throbbing skull.

Steven steadied himself, and looked around the strange bedroom. The room had stopped spinning, but the lines of the wood floors continued to twist and turn in an ever-shifting mosaic. Posters with strange symbols stared back at him from the walls. From the large sliding-glass door on the side poured an eerie pink light. The only thing that didn’t seem to house the same dread as the rest of the room was a small photo sitting on the shelf beside the bed. A girl- young woman, perhaps- smiled out from behind its glossy surface. 

Steven’s eyes narrowed. He knew her. He was sure he did. Why couldn’t he remember her name...? He reached out for it, sure that everything would all come flooding back to him just as soon as he could get a better look-

He yelped as another jolt of pain wracked his head. The photograph slipped from his fingers and floated ever-so-slowly down to the wood flooring before slipping through the cracks below. 

“No!” Steven shouted, dropping to the floor to peer through the crack. 

He saw nothing but more of that strange pink light, which now seemed to be seeping through the cracks in the walls as well. He pounded on the floor with his fists, but it only churned in response.

He looked up, searching for another way to retrieve the photo. 

~”Aha!”

He pushed himself to his feet, took a breath to steady himself, and made his way towards the only door that wasn’t brimming with pink light. Before he could even turn the handle, it creaked open to reveal a dark staircase leading to a room below. 

Steven pushed aside the door and dashed down the steps as quickly as his legs would carry him. To his delight, the polaroid he’d lost laid face- down in the center of the room.

He picked it up and took a moment to stare into the eyes of the girl in the photo again. Deep brown eyes shone as brightly as her smile. Dark hair cascaded over her shoulders. She was absolutely gorgeous. 

_How could I forget the name of someone so beautiful?_ Steven wondered. 

Heat began to radiate from the base of his neck up to his temples as the pain in his head swelled again. 

_What’s wrong with you? Think! Just, focus! It’s not that hard, you know her. You KNOW you know her. You… you...she… Con-_

DING.

Steven’s thoughts screeched to a halt. Trapped in this bizarre dreamlike nightmare, the last thing Steven expected to hear was the ringing of the doorbell. 

He clutched the photograph tightly to his chest, and inched forwards. The floorboards rippled with each step. The room darkened with his every movement, until the pink light pouring through the windows were the only source of visibility in the house. He was almost there. Almost-

DING.

The doorbell chimed. Steven placed his hand on the knob.

DING. DING. DING. DING.

His stomach twisted in knots as he turned the handle, bracing himself for whatever lay on the other side…

The door swung open, revealing a small boy on his doorstep. Alone in the grand pink wasteland beyond the patio, the child looked up at Steven with wide, wary eyes. 

A name hovered on the tip of Steven’s tongue, but he quickly shook it from his head to avoid another migraine. 

“Hey… buddy.” He started. 

The child took a step back, and raised up his hands in submission.

“Woah! No need to be afraid.” Steven continued, watching curiously as the child put down his backpack and began to fish around in it.

After a moment of digging, the child removed a bright yellow bag with a doodle of a smiling potato chip on the cover. He lifted it towards Steven, who eyed him quizzically. 

“...You want to share this with me?”

The child didn’t respond, only continued to shake the chip in his direction with an outstretched arm. 

“Uh, okay.”

Steven reached out and gently took the chip from the child, who smiled nervously. Steven stuck his head out of the door, looking back and forth to see if the child had anywhere to go. Nothing but pink stretched as far as the eye could see, dark but somehow blinding at the same time. He wondered if maybe the child was lost. If he could just get a better look at him…

Steven stepped out onto the porch, when suddenly a loud crashing noise pierced through the atmosphere. He yelped, and pressed his hands over his ears. For a moment, the sound was muffled- but soon an even louder blast knocked him off his feet. He covered his head as the strange, mutated house rippled and shrieked, its roof collapsing in on itself and its floor ripping apart at the seams.

Steven got to his feet and began to run as large chunks of brick and wood began to shower the pink sand around him. He gasped, and turned around.

_Where was the kid?!_

He whipped around frantically, searching for the child until a little tuft of blonde hair caught his attention.

“There you are! Hurry, let’s get out of here!” Steven yelled, reaching out his hand towards the child. 

The boy shrunk back, a terrified expression on his face. 

“Come ON! You’ve got to go- aH!” 

A giant oak tree slammed into the ground between Steven and the child, showering them both in grains of pink sand. 

“Hey! Buddy? Are you alright?!” Steven cried, trying to peer over the oak. 

Another tree slammed into the sand, barely missing his head. He had to go. Now. He shouted once more, hoping that the child would hear him and find a way to escape, before turning and bolting away into the misty magenta landscape. He ran and ran, the pounding of trees onto the ground his only companion as he fled for his life. 

____________________________________________________________________________

“Woah woah woah- slow down. You’re saying this was a corrupted gem?” Bismuth asked, pacing back and forth in the forge. The project she’d been working on laid half-finished on the table.

“I’m not sure _what_ it was.” Connie admitted. “Only that it was strong enough to take out the crystal gems- not to mention their house as well.” 

Lapis bristled.

“So where’s Steven? Why isn’t he with you?” She demanded. 

Connie tensed at her tone. 

“That’s the thing. I don’t know _where_ he is. I’ve been calling him for days, and he never responded. Then today… I found this.” 

She reached into her pocket and pulled out Steven’s cellphone. Lapis’ expression didn’t change. Bismuth gently took the small silver box and examined it. She pursed her lips.

“Sooo… You found a- a what exactly?”

“It’s Steven’s cell phone.” Connie reminded. “He always carries it with him”. 

“Ahh…” Bismuth trailed off, not quite grasping why the little piece of metal was so important.

Peridot tugged on Connie’s jacket sleeve. When she didn’t react, she elbowed her in the ribs.

“Ouch, Peridot! Why did you do that?” 

“Why don’t you show them what _else_ you found at the beach.” Peridot hissed.

“Oh!” Connie reached into her other pocket, then paused.

“Uhm, Lapis? Bismuth? Don’t panic, but I also found these under all the wreckage.” 

She removed Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl and lifted them up for the others to see. Bismuth gasped. Lapis’ fists clenched, and the temperature in the room seemed to surge. The fire crackled and popped.

“I came here because I knew if anyone had a plan to fix this, it’d be you.” 

A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek as she looked pleadingly up at the gems. For a moment, no one spoke. Peridot glanced up at Lapis, whose jaw clenched. Finally, Bismuth broke the silence with a clap of her hands. 

“Hey now! We can handle this, friends! We’re the crystal gems!” She began. Peridot interrupted her with a cough.

“-The crystal temps, actually.”

Bismuth shot her a look. 

“Crystal gems, crystal temps- _whatever_ we choose to call ourselves- we’ve faced tougher challenges than this in the past.” 

“Who led the “Crystal Temps” when Steven was off in space?”

She gestured to Peridot.

“Who stood up to Blue Diamond without a trace of fear when she attacked this planet?” 

She put an arm around Lapis, whose expression relaxed slightly.

“Who risked everything to save the life of her best friend, even while face-to-face with the legendary White Diamond herself?” 

Bismuth grabbed hold of Connie’s hand.

Connie’s eyes widened. A new determination began to swell from the center of her chest.

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right Bismuth! We’ve got this!” Connie lifted her sword into the air, beaming at her friends.

“We’ll heal the crystal gems, find Steven, and locate and bubble the gem that poofed them!” 

The group whooped and cheered in response. Bismuth turned to Lapis and Peridot.

“Alright. Lapis, Peridot- you two take these guys to the healing fountain.” She nodded towards Connie, who handed the gems off to Peridot: Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire- and especially carefully- Amethyst, who seemed moments away from snapping in half completely. 

“Once the Crystal Gems are back in action, you two can spread out on foot and wing to search for Steven.”

“You can count on us!” Peridot grinned, offering a quick salute before Lapis lifted her up and took a running start, dashing out the door and into the sky beyond. 

Bismuth brushed her hands off onto her overalls, and looked down towards Connie.

“As for us…” She placed her hand to her chin. 

“We’re looking for a corrupted gem, right?”

Connie nodded.

“Are we talking about a Jasper? A Quartz?” 

Connie shook her head.

“Bigger than that. The footprint alone was bigger than Lion’s whole body. Im… not sure what we’re dealing with.”

Bismuth smiled, and tapped Connie’s sword.

“Well that just means we’ll have to be prepared for anything, right?” 

Connie nodded. She was ready for anything. 

The fire behind them popped, and a log fell to the hearth with a thump. Then another fell. Then another. Connie gasped. The room was shaking. _The earth was shaking._ With a glance to Bismuth, she tightened her grip on her sword and ran outside to see what was causing the sound. She skidded to a halt in the middle of the street to see dozens of heads popping out of doorways and windows. The faces came in practically every shape, color, and size- but every one shared a mutual expression of awe and terror. 

The ground before her darkened as a massive shadow blanketed the street. Connie slowly turned to see a creature the size of none she’d ever seen before pounding ever closer to the border of Little Homeworld. With six meaty legs the size of school busses, and a crown of shining pink horns around its giant magenta head, the monster truly was a sight to see. 

Connie swung around to face Bismuth.

“We need to evacuate Little Homeworld, NOW!” She shouted. 

Bismuth nodded, and took off down the street. Connie looked up at the concerned faces in the windows above her.

“Citizens! We have an emergency situation! Please gather up your friends and neighbors and evacuate the city!” She hollered. 

Her warning hung in the air for a moment. The gems- many of them new citizens of Little Homeworld, looked around confusedly, as if puzzling over whether the alarm was a drill or not. Their hesitation evaporated as soon as the creature let out an ear -shattering roar, breaking into a run for the town center.

“Go! Go! Go!” Connie shouted. Behind her, she heard the thudding of Lion’s paws against the pavement. 

“There you are!” She cried, leaping onto his back. “We’ve got to get closer!- if we distract the monster, we may be able to draw it away from the city!” 

Lion roared in acknowledgement, and took off towards the beast. Connie drew her sword. It was time to defend their home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HeeEY! It's been a while pals! Sorry for the long delay- three straight hell weeks in a row certainly threw me for a loop. Lucky for me, I've only got one week left until spring break! Hopefully, that means this darn thing can get finished before the show itself ends.  
> (Despite the fact that canon will almost certainly bust this fic to pieces. Oh well!)
> 
> Hope you enjoy this (extra long) chapter! :)


	6. The Plot Thickens

_Why did every gem he meet want to hurt him?_

Steven looked around him in terror, cornered between an outcropping of shiny pink spikes and a mob of gems with murder in their eyes. 

One moment, a gem twice his size charged towards him, weapon at the ready. Steven held out his arm to protect himself, and the next moment the same gem was the size of a mouse, careening off into the distance with a swipe of his hand. She landed with a dull thud, before brushing the dirt from her hair and jumping to her feet to attack again. 

Tears streamed down Steven’s face. He didn’t want to hurt anyone. He was only trying to protect himself. He simply couldn’t understand why everyone wanted to fight him so badly. 

Another charge. Another swipe. Another gem sent headfirst into a cement wall.

Another wave of pain wracked Steven’s head and he screamed, his voice coming out in a strangled roar instead of its usual tenor. As his mind warped, the ground before him transformed into a kaleidoscope of pink and green. One blink and the sky was startlingly blue. Another blink and it became an endless magenta chasm, swallowing him whole. Soon, his hands began to shift and morph as quickly as the world around him. Pale hands upon pink grass. Pink claws upon green grass. The circle of attackers around him tightened. 

A muscular gem with zebra-like stripes grabbed his ankle and he stumbled, crashing into a group of gems to his left. He yelled and covered his eyes as the group surrounded him, chattering in a familiar but utterly incomprehensible language. Meanwhile, bright blue gems fluttered in the air above his head, nearly choking him with spouts of stinging water. 

He swung his head around, looking for any method of escape.

A narrow gap laid between the edge of the group and what seemed to be a miniature city to his left. He rolled to his feet _(how many of those did he have again?)_ and wiggled out of the divot his body made in the ground. 

He almost cried in relief when he managed to stand up. He lifted a leg, ready to make a run for it when a sharp pain shot through his foot. He gasped and wobbled in place, trying to keep the injury from touching the ground. Blood began to drip down his heel. 

A tiny red gem, barely the size of his palm, cackled and dashed away towards the city. Her compatriots high-fived. With tears in his eyes, he tried to shout:

_Why are you doing this?_

But the words ceased to make sense once they left his mouth. Rather, they sounded like the growls of a caged animal, rabid and ferocious.

The gems glared at him with such disgust and disdain that his heart ached. He couldn’t imagine why anyone would treat another with such cruelty. Even so, something deep in the back of his mind insisted:

_You deserve this._

Holding back tears, he turned and sprinted as far away from the chaos as he could, leaving a trail of bloody footprints in his wake. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Connie watched in awe as the town burst into action.

Gems began to pour out of their homes and shops, gathering their friends and loved ones as they went. Some took it upon themselves to run from door-to-door, spreading the orders to evacuate as quickly as they could. Many did as they were told and made hasty escapes to nearby warp pads. Others gathered supplies and weapons. Some of the bravest were already on their way towards the creature, daggers, whips, axes, and any other weapons of destruction at the ready. 

As she neared the border wall, Connie noticed a crowd of gems encircling the beast. Zebra Jasper had ahold of one of its six legs, while several Lazulis circled overhead, keeping the thing at bay with powerful spouts of water. Connie tried to shout over the chaos.

“Leave some space for it to turn the other way!” She shouted.

“We need to draw it away from the city so it doesn’t hurt anyone!” 

She hoped her voice would carry as far as she needed it to. It seemed one of the Lazulis heard her, and the gem motioned for the others to part. 

Connie smiled determinedly. The arrival of the beast was a _little_ bit of a surprise, but so far things were going according to plan. That was, until a particularly ambitious ruby guard took a running start and jabbed her dagger into the center of the creature’s foot. 

Though the blade was tiny, the beast howled in pain, a stream of scalding pink acid spraying from its jaws. The gems nearest to the creature managed to back away just in time to avoid the splash, but the same could not be said for the buildings on the edge of town that were now dissolving in a puddle of noxious sludge. 

The ruby pumped her fist in celebration. 

The creature was already making a run for it, so Connie crouched down and allowed Lion to _really_ pick up speed.

“I’ll keep track of the corruption, and lead it back to the cliff to poof it!” She shouted to the cluster of Quartz soldiers at the gate as she and Lion warped by. 

"...In the meantime, check to make sure no one is hurt- If things go well, we should be back before sunset!” 

The group nodded, and with that, Lion opened a portal and the two leaped through.

______________________________________________________________________

Trailing the beast wasn’t what Connie would call a difficult task. 

With each footstep, the beast left giant craters of fractured earth and crumpled foliage. Lion kept pace, portaling forward every so often when he caught a strong whiff of the monster’s acidic breath. Connie held tight to his mane, rocking in time to the rhythm of his galloping paws. 

It wasn’t long before the smell of blood and acid became stronger, and she knew they were getting close. Lion slowed from a gallop to a canter, and from a canter to a trot. Connie lifted her head. 

Around them bloomed a massive field of flowers. She gazed around in wonder at the gorgeous scene. A rainy spring had brought with it a super bloom of tulips and chrysanthemums and the field was alight with shades of green, yellow, and- in a valley at the center of it all- pink. 

Connie’s admiration stopped short when Lion suddenly froze in his tracks. She yelped and pitched forwards, nearly toppling over his head. 

“Lion!” She gasped. “What’s wrong?” 

Lion padded from foot to foot and whined. 

“Is everything okay?” She ran her cool hands through his mane and gently rubbed his neck. 

He growled and narrowed his eyes towards the clearing where the beast paced back and forth. He bared his teeth and snarled, raised fur pricking Connie’s palms. 

From where the creature stood, Connie and Lion were just barely hidden by the crest of the hill- but Lion simply refused to move. He was more agitated than Connie had ever seen him before. 

She sighed and scratched behind his ears. 

“It’s okay buddy. You can stay here.”

She slid off Lion’s back, and began to creep down the hill to where the beast paced. Descending lower with each step, the creature’s immense size began to dawn on her. It became agonizingly clear that Connie had no chance of fighting the thing on her own. She wasn’t quite sure _how_ she planned to lead it back to the cliffs where the other gems would be waiting- only that she’d have to think of something. 

Faced away from her, the beasts tail twitched back and forth with a frenetic pulse.

Connie crouched down, the tall grass brushing her shoulders and leaving streaks of bright yellow pollen against her jumpsuit. She held her breath. 

_don’t sneeze don’t sneeze don’t sneeze..._

She could feel her lungs clench, a tickle forming in her throat. 

The beast sniffled, softly whining as it turned around to where Connie was sitting. She crouched lower, hand over her mouth as she hid in the brush. 

_don’t cough don’t breathe don’t make a sound…_

She could feel the beast’s breath on her neck. She crouched lower and prayed that the tall grass was enough to hide her from its giant eyes. Quietly as she could, she reached in her pocket for her phone, hoping to alert the gems to her location. Her hand brushed against the plastic case of Steven's phone and she inhaled sharply. The shadow above her froze. She bit her tongue. She hoped she hadn’t made too much noise...

Suddenly, a deafening boom echoed across the field. Connie covered her ears and crouched, expecting a blast of sizzling acid or the swipe of a clawed paw. Nothing. She was alright, for now. 

Another boom followed, though this time it had a higher pitch. A wave of pollen soared over the whole field. Connie looked up at the creature with a mixture of curiosity and awe. It seemed like the beast was... sneezing?

She mulled over this observation. She’d never seen a gem, corrupted or not, so affected by organic plant life- let alone one with a pollen allergy. 

That was, any gem- except for Steven.

The creature moaned and sniffled, raising its paw to lick at the spot where the Ruby’s knife was still stuck. 

Connie’s eyes widened.

_It can’t be…_

She stared at the creature’s foot with utter astonishment. It wasn’t that she was surprised to see that it hadn’t poofed- plenty of corruptions took more bodily damage to surrender their forms. However, one thing about the wound rocked Connie to her very core: it was _bleeding_. 

A terrible thought stewed in the back of her mind. It was a thought she dreaded so deeply that she refused to acknowledge it without better proof. For the time being, she chose to ignore it. 

Instead, she took a deep breath before making (what she hoped) was not a terrible choice. She stood up. The beast once again turned away from her in its restless circle.

It hadn’t noticed her yet. She still had time to turn tail and run, if she wanted. She could run away and throw away her sword and forget this all ever happened. 

But… that wasn’t really true. 

If she gave up now, the beast would remain on the loose, probably to wreak more havoc in its confusion. If she gave up now, she knew she’d never be able to look the Crystal Gems in the eyes. If she gave up now, she couldn’t say if she’d ever see her best friend again. 

It was for all of these reasons that Connie did not give up. Instead, she took a deep breath and shouted.

“Hey!! Over here!”

The beast jolted and whipped its head around to face her. Connie _really_ hoped she was making the right choice. 

She cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted as loudly as she could manage:

“You... uhm... want me to get that for you?!?” 

The beast blinked, acid bubbling at the corners of its mouth. She felt ridiculous, gesturing at the creatures foot while it stared at her, hurt and confused. Sweat bean to form on her brow. 

_Stupid, stupid!_ To think the creature, corrupted gem or not, could understand her was a long shot at best... a fatal miscalculation at worst. 

She began to back away as the creature stepped closer, claws sharp and menacing in the clearing. Connie looked over her shoulder to see if Lion was nearby. If he was, he was well hidden- and not in any mood to come to her aid. The ground shook as the beast took another step forward. 

Suddenly, _thankfully,_ it stopped. It seemed to be contemplating very deeply with the remnants of what mind it had left. Connie held her breath.

The beast finally seemed to make up its mind. Ever so gently, it lifted its paw and held it out towards Connie. She looked up at the beast, searching for any sign that it was preparing to attack- but all she saw were those wide, gentle eyes. 

_I can’t believe it. It’s… listening to me?!_

Surprised by the beast’s sudden change in character, Connie took a few steps forward and held out her hands.

“It’s okay. I know you’re scared… and you’re hurt…”

She trailed off. She was never as good at these things as Steven was. 

“But… I’m here to help you.” 

She looked deep into its eyes.

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

Something deep in the creature’s eyes seemed to stir. She figured she was imagining things, but for an instant she thought she saw recognition in those huge, dark pupils. The ground gave one more rumble, and the beast lowered itself to the ground. Its paw remained outstretched. 

Connie shook her head, and looked down at the creature’s bleeding foot. 

The dagger was small in comparison to the whole paw, but after running several miles, the creature had practically embedded the small weapon into its heel. The hilt was shattered and the blade glinted painfully from the largest gash in its coarse pink skin. Connie grimaced, and tentatively touched the handle. 

The beast flinched, and Connie paused. It was watching her intently, but not aggressively. Just… watching. 

Connie thought for a moment, then removed a kerchief from her hair. Slowly, she moved her hand over to where a shard the size of her palm stuck. With a quick glance at the beast, who was still watching her with wide eyes, she grabbed hold of the shard with the kerchief and yanked it out. 

The beast closed its eyes, a small whimper escaping through its teeth, but it made no move to strike. Connie let out a sigh of relief, and quietly continued. Piece after piece, she made quick work of the remaining shards until the last piece was laying on the grass. The creature sighed gratefully and laid its head onto the patch of flowers next to Connie. She smiled softly, and rested her hand on its snout. With her other hand, she took out her phone and began searching through her contacts. 

It took her a few moments of scrolling to realize she didn’t quite know what number to call. Aside from the Crystal Temps debacle, she’d rarely spent time with Peridot or Lapis- and thus had neither of their numbers. She had Pearl’s number, but had no idea whether she had reformed. She wasn’t even sure if Bismuth understood what a cell phone was. She decided to send a message to Pearl, on the off chance that she’d see it when she returned. 

_“We’ll be at the beach soon. Please don’t do anything until I get there”._

Connie groaned and closed the phone again. She gazed up at the beast, which - with its eyes closed and warm breath letting out small puffs of air and pollen - looked anything but beastly. 

“Who _were_ you?” She wondered aloud.

Once again, that nagging thought that she’d had all afternoon prickled at the back of her mind. The thought she’d been pushing down since this whole debacle started. 

No gem shined out from the beast’s forehead. No quartz or tourmaline or garnet glimmered from the spikes on its back, nor the skin on its foot. Its _bleeding_ foot. 

Frankly, Connie didn’t _want_ to look for its gem. 

She didn’t look for a gem because she feared her thoughts… her awful suspicions- would be confirmed when she did. She feared what she might find when she glimpsed the one spot she’d yet to examine- for the beast’s stomach hung low to the ground whenever it stood. In its current position snoozing in the meadow, there was little chance she’d get a peek anytime soon. With a mournful sigh, she realized that she didn’t need to. 

She already knew it was him.

______________________________________________________________________

The tranquil waters of Rose’s healing fountain glimmered in the afternoon light. The gentle sound of trickling water filled the air with a tranquility wholly unfitting for the situation at hand. That tranquility was broken, however, by the haphazard descent of two gems from the sky.

As soon as Lapis and Peridot clambered down onto the marble rim of the fountain, they placed the four gemstones they’d brought with them into the cool healing waters and waited expectantly for the magic they knew would come. 

And waited.

It seemed to take an agonizingly long time for Ruby and Sapphire to emerge- but, after several hours (and Peridot’s full recap of the newest season of Camp Pining Hearts, whom Lapis was none too pleased to have missed)- the two reemerged. Quickly, the two gems locked hands and twirled into the steadfast gem they knew and loved. 

“Garnet!” Peridot squealed and jumped to her feet- looking as dignified as she could.

“You’re back!”

“What happened to you? Do you know where Steven is?” Lapis asked pleadingly.

It was a moment before Garnet replied, as she processed the urgency of the situation. With a sigh, she recalled the last things she’d seen to Lapis and Peridot: a heated argument, a furious Steven, shaking with bright pink rage… a lecture cut short when-

“Yeah, but when did the _monster_ get there?” Peridot interrupted.

Garnet paused.

“Monster?” 

“Or… corruption, whatever you’d like to call it.” Peridot corrected. 

Garnet was staring at her with an odd expression when Pearl’s gem began to rise from the fountain and shimmer. Their conversation halted as the three gems watched Pearl reform. When she did, Garnet greeted her with a clap on the back, Lapis with a half-interested nod.

Pearl looked around, worry crossing her face.

“Where’s Steven?” 

Garnet tapped her face, materializing her visor. Her mouth was set in a thin line.

“Wherever he is, he seems to be in big trouble.”

Peridot scoffed.

“I’d say so.”

Pearl turned around sharply. 

“What do you mean _you’d say so_?!”

Lapis stepped in front of the little green gem, eye-to-eye with Pearl. 

“He’s been missing for the last several days.” She said flatly. 

Pearl blanched. 

“He’s been whAT?” 

Even Garnet’s shoulders tensed.

“Not to mention, there’s a massive corrupted gem on the loose terrorizing the city...” 

Pearl rubbed her eyelids.

“We don’t have time for this.” She snapped. 

“Steven is clearly... angry with us- he could be anywhere in the _universe_ right now, and Amethyst hasn’t even reformed ye-“

A twinkling sound floated from the fountain.

“Speak of the devil.” said Garnet. 

The shimmering form shifted from one shape to another, before settling on the stout, fluffy-haired figure Amethyst admired, and burst to life. 

Amethyst gasped and shook the water from her hair.

“Wha’s goin on? Where’s Steven? Where are w-“

She blinked.

“Are we at the healing fountain?” 

Peridot stepped forward, eager to illuminate.

“Well, it seems that not long after Steven had his uh... _conversation_ with you, a monster (who is now roaming beach city) crashed onto the beach and destroyed your house, poofing you all!”

Behind her, Lapis mimed an explosion with her hands. 

“Not to mention nearly cracking you in half” - She added. 

Amethyst’s mouth opened in horror. 

“..But!” Peridot continued. “...The fact that you all are finally back means that everything is going according to plan! Next, we find and poof the corruption that destroyed the beach house, heal her, get a search party together...” 

“What about Steven? He could be in danger!” Amethyst cried.

Pearl rubbed her hands together apprehensively. 

“Amethyst… You saw how angry he was with us before things got… out of control. The most likely scenario is that he’s warped somewhere to be alone for a while. He... he stated pretty clearly that he wants us to give him some space.” 

Her tone was sad, but genuine. Even Amethyst had to admit she had a point.

“We’ll worry about finding him after we deal with the monster” Garnet declared. Everyone looked up towards her, relieved to have a voice of authority in the room.

With their worries assuaged and the comfort of a solid plan at their disposal, the mood in the atmosphere began to lighten. 

Things were going to get better. They would solve this problem, like the many that came before it. They would find Steven, find out what was wrong, and move on together- made better because of it. 

Around her, Garnet saw the determined faces of Lapis, Peridot, and Amethyst. Pearl, however, was turned away- rapidly scrolling through her phone.

“Pearl?” Amethyst asked.

“They’re on the way to the beach.” Pearl spoke.

“Who?” Garnet inquired.

“Connie. She... says not to do anything until she gets there. I- I don’t understand... how...?”

Her brow creased, but the others took the message as fantastic news. 

“No time to worry about the specifics!” Peridot chirped. She leaped forwards, clutching an iron pipe in her hand.

“Time to fight to save Beach City! To save little Homeworld! To save our home!”

“Yeah!” Yelled Amethyst.

“Yes!” Shouted Garnet.

“Heh, yeah.” Lapis smiled. 

_Where did Peridot get that pipe?_ Pearl wondered.


	7. The Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The original title for this chapter was "uh oh sisters" so... have fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh! This fic has been eating up my life for the past week, and will continue to do so until Friday. Can't wait for the finale!
> 
> TW: There’s some blood, minor gore, and a good bit of bodily harm in this chapter. Proceed responsibly my friends ;)

_How could she let this happen?_

One moment, Connie was peacefully leading the beast- er... _Steven_ back towards the cliffs, fully prepared to arrive ahead of him, calmly explain the situation, and come up with a plan to heal him. It was perfect, because she knew she’d have an army of gems who loved him on her side. The next moment, well… everything was falling apart.

 _How could you be so naive?_ She wondered, as she fought her way through the knee-high grass. 

_Letting Steven carry your backpack? Drawing your sword next to him, after he’d already been attacked by so many others?_ **_Of course_ ** _that would scare him half to death! What were you thinking?_

Now she was sprinting after Steven, legs far too short to keep up with his large, loping strides. Her calves burned, but she couldn’t stop. She couldn’t let them hurt him. She was his knight… she was… she was…

She realized with horror that he was going to arrive at the beach without her. Without the phone in her backpack, she couldn’t even call anyone to tell them what was happening. She prayed Pearl would heed her warning and wait for her to get there. 

The only things Connie had now were her sword- heavy and cumbersome as she clambered up each hill- and Steven’s phone, bouncing up and down in her back pocket. At this point, both were useless to her. 

Time was of the essence now. 

______________________________________________________________________

Steven tossed and turned. He dreamt he was crashing through the forest on all fours, wincing as branches smacked his face and trunks collided with his legs. He couldn’t stop, he was afraid... so afraid. 

Faces flashed before him. A young boy, pale and blonde, emerged from the pink fog and held out his hand. Steven reached out towards him, but the boy fell back in terror, before his face bulged and twisted into that of a furious ruby, cackling with glee as blood dripped down her forearms.

Steven screamed and retreated, bolting away with little direction in mind. His only hope was to get as far away as possible. He ran until he felt like dying- and then ran just a little bit more. He hoped that if he ran far enough, his furious pursuers would give up and finally leave him be. His sprint slowed to a jog, as he simply couldn’t keep up the breakneck pace any longer. His body was starting to fail him. He panted with a mouth as dry as cotton, and ached with a stomach as empty as his heart. 

_When was the last time he’d eaten?_

He couldn’t remember- and frankly, couldn’t bring himself to care. He collapsed into a field of bright pink flowers, and sobbed sorrowfully into his arms. The skin scratched at his face, and he opened his eyes to look at them. Again, they flickered between pink, reptilian limbs and normal, human arms. He shut his eyes, hoping he could block out the fear and confusion that threatened to consume him. 

Everything hurt… He just wanted it all to be over...

Through the darkness he could hear a whisper; a gentle voice that cut through the cacophony of anger in his mind. It spoke so tenderly, and sounded so familiar...

“It’s… okay…” The voice said.

“You’re… Scared… Hurt….”

He concentrated on the soft sound, trying to focus on its soothing tone to calm his pounding heart. He could make out a few words here and there: 

“I’m here…” 

He opened his eyes.

“I’m not going to hurt you.”

Standing in front of him was the girl of his dreams. She stared into his eyes, but did not shrink away. She did not cower. She looked at him like she’d known him her whole life. Unlike with any of the other humans or gems he’d met, he felt completely at ease around her. In her eyes gleamed something he missed with all his heart: love. She was the first- and only person who saw him for who he was, and tried to help him. 

He should’ve known she would betray him too.

It took but an instant for their calm walk to crumble into chaos when the girl drew her sword. The gleaming weapon caught Steven’s eye and he panicked, rearing up with a roar. She was yelling at him now, but her words dissolved into static. He locked eyes with her, and watched in horror as her face began to melt and twist. He started to run, but her face followed. It continued to mold and reform until it took the shape of a middle aged man’s. 

Steven gasped as the trees and sky started to rumble and move. The world was getting smaller, the distant trees and hills closing in on him until they were the four walls of an old van. The man’s bearded face- so familiar in appearance- spoke to him incomprehensibly, but his tone dripped with a pity Steven couldn’t stand. Anger began to well up inside of him until pink light was shining in all directions… 

_“You crashed the van with Greg inside?!?”_ The tires screeched.

A scream pierced through the air and the resounding crunch of metal on concrete echoed through Steven’s head. The seat pitched forwards and he was flying through the air, the ground beneath him flickering rapidly between grey concrete, fuschia light, clear water, dark red waves… 

With a splash, he landed in what he realized were the violent waters of a churning river. An overturned canoe drifted by, too fast for him to grab onto. He struggled and gasped for air as the current threatened to pull him under. When he did manage to lift his head, he glimpsed a pair of shining white legs… a dolphin with flowing blue hair… a pineapple who was… _scowling at him?_

The river quickened, and Steven shrieked as the current once again pulled him underwater. He held his breath, but winced as a submerged boulder smacked hard into his shoulder. It hurt, but kept his mouth shut. 

He gasped to the surface again, but barely managed to get half a breath in his lungs before a furious orange gem headbutted him back into the rushing water. He choked and gulped down a lungful of water. Huge boulders rushed by him as he tumbled downstream, completely at the mercy of the waves. 

He heard a sickening crack and for a moment saw the outlines of spiderweb cracks spreading through the inside of his skull. He tried to scream, but only gulped down more water. The static that had steadily crept along the edges of his vision intensified. 

He couldn’t see. He couldn’t breathe. 

He couldn’t understand how, or _why_ he was still alive. 

It was almost like… he was dreaming.

His heart beat faster.

_Why didn’t he think of this before?_

Everything: the river, the faces, even the house that shifted and morphed before his very eyes- everything was just a terrible, terrible dream! 

“Drmm.. In.. I’m...dream?” He gurgled. 

Despite the water filling his body, relief began to fill his mind. 

He was relieved because if this was all a dream, it was one he could wake up from. 

Beneath the churning waves, Steven brought his hand over to his arm and pinched. 

He winced at the pain, but the static in his vision quickly subsided. Around him, the world began to darken. It hurt, but he realized with excitement that he could no longer feel the weight of the water in his chest, nor could he see the mutated faces of gems and humans he half- recognized through the ripples. The darkness consumed him…

Until it was dark no longer. Through misty eyes, he could just barely make out the shapes of three gems. One stout, purple Amethyst. A fusion- Garnet- visor shining like the stars in the light of the setting sun. A pearl, staring up at him determinedly. 

He let out a sob of relief. 

He knew them. They were his _family._ Sure, they looked a little smaller than normal- but nothing about the last several days were normal. His heart ached with joy to see them, alive and well only a few yards away. They were here to help him- to save him from himself and from the gems that wanted to hurt him.

He dashed forwards to embrace the group but stopped when he saw them leap back in fear, hands on their weapons. 

_Garnet, Pearl, Amethyst- it’s ME. It’s Steven!_ He wanted to scream, but the words came out muddled and raspy. 

“Grnt… PRRrrl!” 

Garnet crouched into a fighting stance, summoning her gauntlets with a clang. Amethyst snapped her whip at his face, narrowly missing his eyes. Pearl hadn’t summoned her weapon, but her expression conveyed anything but tenderness. Instead of drawing her spear, she clutched a small metal cell phone closely to her chest. She was trembling terribly. Steven realized she wasn’t looking into his face, but past his shoulder, where a tattered school- bag hung. 

It began to dawn on him that the gems didn’t recognize him. 

_Why don’t they recognize me? I’m their family! I’m- I’m..._

He realized with dread that the gems weren’t any smaller than usual. The cliffs- the beach… everything around him was in perfect proportion.

Except him. 

He followed their gaze to his back, which bore six jagged pink spikes. On the one closest to his head hung a small yellow backpack, tattered and torn. He realized it belonged to the girl who’d led him there - the girl he’d run away from not long before. Behind him, gems ducked out of the way of his swinging tail. 

_Tail? When did I...? How did I...?_

A horrible realization dawned on him. He was a _monster_ , a horrible, ugly BEAST. How could he fault the gems for trying to poof him just like all the other corruptions they’d fought over the years? 

Another fierce migraine struck, and he roared in agony. Garnet and Amethyst burst into action, heading in opposite directions to attack while the pain filled his head.

He yelped as the purple gem zoomed by his shoulder. He landed on his damaged foot and hissed, shifting to the other to avoid the pain. He tripped over his own legs, now terribly aware that he had far more than usual. The barely healed wound on his foot reopened, and soon the sand ran red with his blood. He stared weakly at the bloody footprints while his mind came to a somber conclusion.

The gems would kill him before they discovered who he was. 

His head throbbed, and the static returned to the edges of his vision. It was getting harder to see or hear anything around him. 

Garnet struck him, hard, on the cheek with her gauntlet and he stumbled backwards. He could feel a ferocious energy building up inside of him, blinding him with its fury. 

_“Don’t let this pink power control you. You’re better than this.”_ Hissed the static.

He howled.

  
  


_“We need to do something about this before someone gets hurt”_ It buzzed. 

The purple gem’s whip tangled around his tusks and she swung towards him for the attack. Her boots sent a shock of pain through his skull, and he began to feel dizzy. Still, he took the hit without fighting back.

_“I can’t hurt them. If I do, I don’t know how I’d ever forgive myself.”_ He thought to himself, but with each passing second it became harder and harder to think about anything at all. 

Another migraine hit, this time sending violent bursts of static through his brain. A dark figure leaped through the air towards him and he growled at it, swatting it away like a horsefly.

He was starting to forget why he was being so gentle. 

He spotted the last of the three figures, who stood at the edge of the cliff, hand poised over the gemstone on her forehead. He grit his teeth, trying to force the static from his mind but it was far too powerful. He shook, and fought- but soon the anger was too much. Pink energy filled his being and soon his mind and body were on fire. He leaped towards the cliff, and the gem braced herself.

The two stared at each other with equal ferocity. Steven snarled, daring her to make a move. With a flicker, she summoned her spear and pointed it towards his face.

She had tears in her eyes when she cried: 

“This is for Connie!” 

And lunged upwards. Steven opened his jaws to snap at her, but he was an instant too late. 

A sickening squelch followed, and Steven let out a scream louder than any before. 

With a shockwave of pink energy, the ground buckled beneath them and the remainders of the army either poofed or ran for cover. The beast reared up on its hind legs, pawing at the spear in its eye with its forearms while Pearl watched in horror. 

  
  


_It can't be…_

She hoped she was imagining things. With the beast’s front legs in the air and belly raised off the ground in a ferocious stance, Pearl could see something she couldn’t believe.

From the creature’s scaly belly shone the gem of Pink Diamond. The bleeding, screeching _monster_ in front of her was not a standard corrupted gem at all. It was just a terrified boy. 

It was _her_ terrified boy. 

It was Steven. 

______________________________________________________________________

...About a quarter mile away, the aftershocks of the creature’s scream shook the earth with a rumble. An exhausted Connie cried out, and picked up her speed as she sprinted in the direction of the sound. 

“Hang in there Steven.” She gasped to herself. 

“We’re going to fix this - together.”


	8. The Epiphany

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It takes more than a hug and a heartfelt conversation to fix something so deeply broken as a soul. It takes friendship. It takes love. It takes an Epiphany.

Pearl was frozen in horror when Connie finally arrived at the beach, exhausted but unharmed. 

Amethyst noticed her first, and shouted in delight.

“Connie! You’re alive?! We… We were so worried about you! We thought-”

She stumbled as the beast screeched and smashed into the side of the cliff, knocking away large chunks of rock from its side. With a gnarl, she swung her whip around and placed herself protectively in front of Connie.

“Stay back dude,” Amethyst started.

“...this thing is stronger than anything we’ve fought before.” 

Connie looked up to see the marks on the beast’s cheeks from where Garnet had hit him; the rough scratches where Amethyst’s whip made contact. She gasped when the creature turned its head towards them, revealing the gruesome hole where its eye had once been. She looked back and forth between Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and the beast and quickly put together what must have happened. She grabbed Amethyst’s shoulder and pulled her back.

“STOP!” Connie screamed, planting herself between the gems and the the creature.

“You’re hurting him!!” She cried, tears streaming down her face.

“Him?” Amethyst blinked, half-listening, as the creature wound up for another attack.

“She’s out of control!” Garnet yelled from across the cliff, face set hard as stone.

“There’s no way we’re going to get her into the healing fountain like this.” 

Amethyst cut in: 

“These things are never easy, Connie, but the only way to get her back to the temple is by poofing her!”

Acid started to spew from the creature’s mouth.

Connie fumed. 

“LOOK at him, Amethyst! He’s bleeding! Doesn’t that strike you as a little strange?” 

Connie was trying her best to keep it together, but her face was red and tears were beginning to well up in the corners of her eyes. 

“Connie I- we- this is the only option we have!” Amethyst stammered, though her grip on her whip loosened. 

“Does this option _LOOK_ like it’s working to you?!” Connie shrieked, gesturing at the convulsing creature behind them. She glared at the gems, her face a furious silhouette in front of the shuddering wall of pink. 

Connie’s words began to sink in, and Amethyst took a moment to look closer at the wounds on the creature’s body. She realized with reluctance that the dark fluid pouring from its injuries were not acidic pink like the creature’s saliva- but rather dark, red, and undeniably _human._

She looked to her left where Garnet stood, still hardened with denial. Behind her, Pearl sobbed. 

“...Pearl?” She pleaded, hoping the gem would offer some kind of justification- any explanation that could prove Connie wrong. Unfortunately, Pearl’s sobs did quite the opposite. 

“It’s….” -hic- “It’s Stev… St… S…” 

Drops of acid began to splatter on the rocks around them. 

“Steven’s gem… It has…” -hic- “...Steven’s Gem…”

Garnet stepped closer. 

“It’s…” 

The shower of acid became a hail. 

“He’s…”

Connie ducked, using her sword to shield her from the drops.

“...Corrupted.”

Far above them, Steven thrashed in pain, flinging his head back and forth to loosen the spear from his eye. 

Amethyst deflated. 

Garnet grit her teeth, struggling to keep herself together. 

Connie stood her ground, fists balled at her sides.

Pearl hung behind the others. She had both hands over her mouth, tears streaming down her face. Her eyes remained on Steven as he finally dislodged her spear from his eye and flung it to the ground, roaring once more. 

“What can we possibly do to make this better...?” Pearl sobbed, finally looking Connie directly in the eyes. 

Connie took a deep breath. 

“I’m not sure if this will work, but I think I have an idea.”

The gems looked at her with uncertainty. She stepped forward, gathering them in a circle to whisper her plan. Humbled by the discovery of their massive blind spot - the thought that _Steven Universe_ \- their joyful, carefree child - could corrupt into something so awful, the gems listened without interrupting as Connie described her idea. 

She finished, and they simply stared at her.

“That’s ridiculous!” Peal cried, wiping the tears from her eyes. 

“You’re going to get yourself killed!”

“I dunno dude, it seems like a stretch...” Amethyst warned.

Garnet’s expression was unreadable. 

“Garnet?” Connie pleaded. 

“Do you think it’ll work!?”

Garnet bit her lip, then finally kneeled down to Connie’s level. Pearl and Amethyst stepped back, keeping their eyes on Steven, who was rounding up for another attack. Garnet tapped her visor and it dissipated. Behind it, her three eyes were wide and desperate. Placing her hands on Connie’s shoulders, Garnet spoke:

“Connie.” 

With eyes staring deeply into hers, Connie thought back to a similar pep-talk Garnet had given, on the night that she and Steven first fused.

_You are not two people._

“You’re aware of the risk you’re taking,” Garnet started.

_You are not one person._

“And you’re doing this for him anyway.” She continued. 

_You are an experience._

“You are the best friend Steven has ever had.”

_Make sure you’re a good one._

“He trusts you. If anyone can do this, it’s you.” 

_Now go. Have. Fun._

“Now - go save our Steven.”

Connie straightened. She was really going to do this. 

“Yes ma’am.” She replied, determinedly. 

The gems leaped to attention as another ball of pink energy started to form around Steven. Connie began to jog towards the edge of the cliff. The air was alive with static energy, raising the hairs on her neck. She began to run. She gripped her sword with determination - though holes riddled the metal shaft where drops of acid had struck it. The gems, far behind her, began to shout. Connie couldn’t hear them, the pounding of her pulse in her ears too loud. 

She made it to the edge of the cliff, nearly eye-to-eye with the creature her friend had become. 

“Steven!” She shouted as loud as she could manage.

“Listen to me!” 

The creature barely acknowledged her. 

“Connie, watch out!” Garnet shouted. The shining orb of electricity pulsed and buzzed.

“Steven please, it’s Connie! Your best friend!” She pleaded. The ball of pink energy was about to burst.

She took a deep breath, then screamed as loud as her lungs would allow.

“I’m nOT GOING TO HURT YOU!!”

She held up her sword, then hurled it towards the edge of the cliff. The iron made a loud clatter as it bounced along the rocky ground. This seemed to get Steven’s attention. 

Connie’s hands shook as she stared into his voidlike eyes. The sword teetered for a moment on the edge of the cliff, before seemingly deciding it had better places to be and slipping off into the air. There was no giving up now. 

With trembling fingers, she reached in her pocket where Steven’s phone still rested. This time, she took it out and looked at the glass. The passcode screen shone back expectantly. 

6 digits.

_What could his password be?_

1-2-3-4-5-6.

The phone buzzed angrily. 

6-5-4-3-2-1 ? 

Another buzz.

Connie huffed in frustration.

Steven lifted his paw. Behind her, the gems huddled in a protective circle.

She thought. 6 numbers... 6 letters… It was once again time to put on her detective’s hat.

7-8-3-8-3-6

S-T-E-V-E-N

Another buzz. Another failure. 

Maybe the password was “Garnet”? 

4-2-7-6-3-8

Buzz. 

The screen lit up with a warning message. _One attempt remaining._ She groaned. She had to think of another plan, fast. 

She looked down at the phone dejectedly, ready to give up and place it back into her pocket when a thought struck her. She figured she had nothing else to lose, and typed in the code.

2-6-6-6-4-3

C-O-N-N-I-E.

Her finger hovered over the ‘e’ for a bit longer than necessary. It seemed so self-centered to use this as her final guess, but she couldn’t think of anything that seemed more likely. 

With a tap, Connie heard a click and the phone unlocked. She let out a whoop of relief, and quickly scrolled through the pages of apps, looking for... looking.....

Steven swung his paw, narrowly missing the gems and sending rocks flying.

She jumped in surprise, but the swipe didn’t seem to be aimed in her direction at all. She kept scrolling. At the edge of the cliff, Steven grumbled in frustration at the futility of his attacks. Another ball of pink light began to emanate outwards with greater speed than the first, and the gems braced themselves for an onslaught much stronger than the first.

It took Connie a few more precious seconds to find the file she was looking for. Pressing play, she turned the volume up as high as it would go, and held the speaker in the air. For a moment, everything stilled.

As the first few notes of “Alone Together” began to play, she noticed that the beast had halted its attack. It seemed to be listening. The furious energy in the air had not evaporated, but it wasn’t getting any stronger either. This was her chance. 

“Do you remember this song?!” Connie shouted - hoping that somewhere, deep inside the creature’s warped mind, that her friend could still hear her. The gentle tune continued to play.

“Do you remember when you first played it for me?” 

The creature’s nose twitched.

“I had never danced with anyone before that night, on the beach.” She continued.

“I couldn’t stand the thought of people watching me, like that. So you covered your eyes, and asked me to dance.”

The creature closed its eyes, swaying a bit. Connie chuckled.

“You were so charming, Steven. So completely genuine.” 

The monster bobbed its head, now moving in time with the familiar tune. 

“...So we danced!” She laughed, tears clouding her vision. She began to sway her hips, now swinging and moving in time with the music. A pink glow began to fill the air, but it was different than the one before. Gentler.

Connie closed her eyes, and spun around on the grass, the gems watching in awe as the creature...smiled? 

Connie finished her spin, and gazed up at the giant.

“I’m sorry things turned out like this.” She said.

The creature didn’t respond. 

“But things are going to get better. We’re going to get through this. _You’re_ going to get through this. I trust you.” She said. He tilted its head. 

She gulped, and took a running start. The song began to crescendo, and Connie kicked off her shoes, gaining speed. The pink light from Steven’s gem grew stronger still.

“Connie!” Pearl cried. 

Amethyst and Garnet surged forwards as they saw her dart ahead.

“Con-!” Their voices cut off as Connie leaped off the edge of the cliff. 

Wind rushed through her hair as the shining pink light enveloped her. She was falling, but time seemed to slow down with each breath. 

She was somewhere, and then she was nowhere, all at once. 

______________________________________________________________________

The first thing Connie felt as she fused with the beast was an excruciating pain in her right eye. She screamed, every part of her body telling her to stop stop stop. She felt their form begin to rip apart as she reflexively pulled away from the unbearable pain.   
  
“No!! I have to keep it together! I have to. Keep. Us. Together!”   
  
She and the beast writhed in agony, two souls tied together in torment. They roared.   
  
“Connie!?”   
Amethyst yelled.   
  
“Steven?”   
Pearl cried.   
  
“Stevonnie?”   
Garnet shouted.   
“Can any of you hear us?”   
  
Connie struggled to breathe, finally finding the strength to nod their giant head. 

_Yes._   
  
“They’re alright!” Pearl cried.   
  
The beast felt anything but. This wasn’t Stevonnie. This wasn’t like being anyone at all. Connie felt someone had ripped out half of her mind, shattered it into pieces, and shoved it back into her skull, mismatched and broken. She hoped, prayed, that somewhere in the mess of shards that Steven might still be there.   
  
“Stevonnie! Take a moment to think!” Called a voice far below them.   
  
_Connie... stevonnie..._

The creature bared their teeth.  
  
“Think of flexibility!”   
  
They roared.   
  
“Think of love!”   
  
They moaned.   
  
“Think of trust!”   
  
They let out a whimper, and lowered to their haunches.   
  
“Now, here comes a thought.” 

______________________________________________________________________

Connie opened her eyes. Everything around her was pink.

  
  
She looked down at her hands. She was relieved to see ten fingers. Not claws. Dark palms- not pink paws.

She lifted her hands to her right eye, feeling the curve of her cheek; the brush of her eyelash. 

_I’m alright._ She thought. _Nothing hurts anymore._

  
She rose to her feet. It was quiet- startlingly so. She looked around expectantly, waiting for something drastic to reveal itself. Some kind of… epiphany. Someone to help or someone to fight... anyone, really.

  
  
“Steven?” She called out to the pink void.

Not even her echo replied.  
  
  
She picked a direction and began to jog. She looked around for something, _anything_ that might lead her to her friend. It seemed like the pink landscape stretched endlessly in all directions; no landmarks to track her pace by… not a soul around to show her the way. 

She felt like she’d been running for hours, but by the looks of the empty space around her- it was like she hadn’t moved an inch. She took a deep breath and shouted again: 

  
“Steven, please! It’s Connie! I know you’re here somewhere. I’m here to help you, really!”   
  
Her ears rung from the silence. 

After what seemed like _ages_ of running, Connie jogged to a stop. She was panting heavily, but felt no more tired than when she had begun. Wherever she was, it seemed oddly empty. _She_ felt empty. 

Was _this_ Steven’s mind? 

No. It couldn’t be.

It was so… barren. 

“Anyone here?” Connie tried, hoping for any kind of response. She took a few steps forward, wandering aimlessly at this point. Suddenly, she noticed something. A flash of white in the monotone landscape of pink. A small white moth. 

It was moving quickly, and Connie tripped over her feet in her effort to keep up. Up ahead, she could see more of the insects clustered around something... She started to make out the outline of a figure. 

_Steven?_

She picked up her pace, the figure getting bigger and bigger as she approached. Something was off. She skidded to a halt. In front of her wasn’t Steven. In fact, the gem that turned around to face her was quite the opposite of who she expected. 

Jasper grinned a vicious, toothy smile. 

“Jasper?!” Connie yelped in surprise.

“Runt.” She growled.

Connie took a step back.

“W- where’s Steven?” She narrowed her eyes. “What have you done to him?”

Jasper laughed; a cold, empty sound. 

“What did _I_ do to him?” she chuckled. “You’re asking the wrong question, human.” 

Connie wasn’t in any mood to play games. 

“What. Did. You. Do. To. Him.” She hissed. 

Jasper let out a frustrated sigh. This was getting old.

“I _think_ what you’re trying to ask is: what did he do to himself?”

Connie clenched her fists.

“Why would Steven do this to himself? He would never want this. He... he has a good life. He loves his life!” She stammered. Jasper lifted an eyebrow.

“Really? And you’re so sure of that, are you?”

Connie opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again. She thought back to the last time they’d spent any real time together. Their picnic on the beach.... Steven’s failed proposal...

Jasper’s form began to shift and waver. Connie’s confidence wavered as she thought about the gem’s words. 

_Steven’s visit to her mother’s office... his pink attacks... everything made sense in the context of corruption._ Jasper snapped her out of her thoughts.

“-Just because that _weakling_ happens to have Pink Diamond’s gem,” she spat. “-doesn’t mean he’s any better than a Quartz soldier like me.” 

Her form morphed and shrunk until she became a small blue-and-red gem, fluttering several feet off the ground.

Bluebird. 

Connie recalled Steven telling her about the hateful gem- a fusion of Eyeball and Aquamarine - neither of them big fans of his. Connie braced herself for whatever the fusion had to offer. 

Bluebird cackled. 

“Ohh hello there.” She chirped, with a thick Cockney accent. 

“...I suppose you’re here for Steven”. 

In moments, Bluebird shapeshifted into a crude caricature of Steven. She placed her hands over her chest dramatically.

“Oh I’m Steeeeven Uuuuniverse.” She drawled. 

“I’m soooo noble because I help everyone I meet with their feeeelings. That makes me better than everyone else.”

“Stop it!” Connie shouted, but the gem was on a roll.

“I’m suuuuch a good person that I can’t ever tell anyone about _my_ problems. I’m too afraid of hurting their feelings with my own. How much they’ve hurt me. How angry I am. Oh, no! I’m too perfect to criticize! Ohh!”

She threw her head back dramatically.

“I’d never just... snap.” The corner of her mouth twitched. 

“...I’m much too perfect for that.” Her toothy grin fell into a wicked scowl, and she began to shimmer and shapeshift again. 

Connie covered her eyes as Bluebird’s form twirled and stretched into a whole lineup of characters: Spinel, Holly Blue, Pink Pearl, Kevin; even the Crystal Gems.

“Where is Steven?!” Connie shouted at them. “He needs my help!”

“Where is Steven?” The voices echoed. “We need his help.”

For a moment, Amethyst’s form emerged from the cluster of faces. 

“Amethyst!” Cried Connie. “Steven is in trouble! I need you.”

Amethyst rolled her eyes.

“Ugh, Steven? He seems so... I dunno. Immature, now?” She fluffed her hair. “Haven’t you heard? I’m like, a career coach now. And a teacher. I’ve got better things to do than hang out with some little kid.”

Before Connie could argue, Amethyst’s head jerked back- a pained expression on her face- and shattered before her eyes. Connie screamed and rushed forwards to catch the shards, but they were already twisting... churning in the whirlwind of pink sand and moth feathers. Connie watched in horror as they clinked together, reforming into Garnet. 

“G-garnet?” Connie stammered, reaching towards the fusion. 

Garnet shook her head. 

“Not now Connie. We’ll deal with this later.”

“What do you mean we’ll deal with this later?! Steven is in trouble!”

Garnet didn’t move. She stood as still as the temple statue, repeating the same words like a broken record. 

“We’ll deal with this later.” 

Connie reached forward to shake her by the shoulders- to snap her out of it, something. When her fingers brushed the edge of Garnet’s arm, however, the fusion once again dissolved into the amalgamation of characters from Steven’s past. The cluster of faces was growing larger, louder, more intense. Moths smashed into each other and into the half-formed bodies of various gems and humans. 

“Help us. HELP US. HELP US.” They chanted, louder than before. 

“No!” Connie shouted. “Steven has spent so much of his life helping all of you! It’s time for YOU to do the same for him!”

From the mass of creatures before her, a bony arm reached out and grabbed the front of her jumpsuit. Connie screamed and tried to pull away, but the hand held tight to her collar. Pearl’s face emerged from the swarm of pink light and moths.

“Help...meee...” she groaned.

“Rose... I miss her so much...” she moaned. “I thought I knew her deepest secrets... but she hid them from me too.”

Connie kicked and screamed. 

“Why would she abandon us like that? Giving her gem to that child...I’d give anything to have her back...”

Connie ripped out of her cold grip.

“What are you TALKING about, Pearl? You love Steven! Sure, you miss Rose but... Steven is what matters now. He’s your family.” 

“Anything.... anything...” Pearl repeated, slowly melting back into the whirlwind behind her. 

Connie wheezed, her heart pounding in her ears. All around her, screams filled the air. She clamped her hands over her ears. The furious buzzing of static began to fill her mind and she whimpered.

“No no nO NO NO!”

“Help us... help us... the voices shrieked. The cluster of gems and people stretched and grew until it towered over Connie’s head. Soon, hanging over her stood the intimidating silhouette of White Diamond. 

Connie gasped and started to retreat. Something was wrong with her. Not only did White Diamond grin at her in the same strange way Jasper had, but her hair gleamed pink in the magenta light. Her cape billowed in the whirlwind behind her, dark purple instead of its usual grey. 

“Why... it’s _Pink’s pet._ ” She beamed, fluttering her eyelashes at the tiny human. 

Connie’s face began to heat up. She wasn’t about to deal with White Diamond’s condescension _again_ , after risking so much to change her mind years ago.

“I’m not. His. Pet.” Connie growled. 

“And for the last time, his name is STEVEN.”

White seemed taken aback by her tone.

“ _Well, you’re a little rude, aren’t you_?” White spat, dropping her faux-friendly tone.

 _“Pink never did have the best taste in company..._ ”

Connie’s anger burst. 

“For the last time, it’s STEVEN! Not Pink Diamond, not Pink, not Rose, not anything but STEVEN UNIVERSE.” 

She glared up at the Diamond, whose head towered several stories above hers.

“You saw for yourself! After you... you ripped his gem out! You saw his other half. The only thing inside Steven’s gem is STEVEN!”

“ _Oh, pssh._ ” White scoffed.

“ _Pink has always been a trickster. Stars, she even convinced Blue and Yellow that she’d been shattered- for six thousand years! Oh, what fools they were to have believed her.”_

“But you believed him!” Connie cried. “I don’t understand, you’ve believed him for years! You helped him un-corrupt all of the Earth gems, rebuild the planet. The empire is in era three, and you’re a part of it. You even took Spinel under your wing! What is WRONG with you all of a sudden? What’s wrong with _everyone_ all of a sudden?” 

White Diamond shuddered, her form already dissolving again. Connie shook with anger. She braced herself for whatever was next, whatever awful, distorted creature the whirlwind sent her way. A small, hazy form began to take shape…

Connie gasped.

_No._

She realized with horror that she was staring into her own face, as clear as her reflection in the mirror. She opened her mouth to speak, but found that she couldn’t say a word. She was completely frozen in shock.

Her dopplegänger spoke. 

“Why are you here?”

Connie opened and closed her mouth like a dying fish.

“Why. Are you. Here.” Her double repeated. 

Connie took a breath and managed to croak:

“I’m here to save Steven. To help him get through this.”

Her double raised an eyebrow. 

“And how on Earth do you plan to do that? Are you going to talk to him? Make it all better with a hug and a heartfelt conversation?” 

Connie shifted from foot to foot. That was, after all, her plan. That _was_ how Steven won over so many hearts.

“You _do_ know that you’re part of the reason he’s here.” 

Her double stepped forward, a strange smile spreading on her face. 

“You’re leaving him behind. _All_ he wants is to spend his life with us, Connie. He’s got nothing else to live for. And you’ve ripped that away from him.”

“STOP!” Connie screamed. “YOU’RE WRONG!” 

Her dopplegänger gripped her shoulder, hissing into her ear.

“...At least here, in his mind, he can be with me.” 

“NO!” Connie shrieked and threw her double to the ground. The dopplegänger’s head hit the sand with a wet smack, but she was still smiling. She kept grinning even as her form dissolved, melting back into nothingness. 

Connie collapsed onto the ground, shaking with anguish. 

_How could she ever hope to help Steven if she was part of the problem?_

The form before her started to tremble and reform. Connie couldn’t imagine dealing with another enemy.

_She might as well leave him be. All she was doing now was causing him more pain._

Once again, Jasper’s laugh echoed across the room. Connie lifted up her head, sniveling pathetically. In a few powerful steps, Jasper plodded over to where Connie sat. She hung her head. She didn’t have the energy to deal with Jasper right now, let alone defeat her. 

She flinched when the muscular gem grabbed her face, pulling it up to look her in the eyes. 

“Get ahold of yourself.” She grunted, looking at her with disgust. 

Connie’s breath hitched, and she let out another sob.

“H-how c-c-can I?” She hiccuped. 

“I’m supposed to be Steven’s knight. His savior. But I’m the reason that he’s here.” 

Jasper’s grip tightened for a moment, before she scrunched her nose and roughly pulled her hand away. 

“You’re wrong.” Jasper said. 

Connie looked up in surprise. 

“Do you want to know why Steven’s _really_ here?”

Connie took a ragged breath, wiping the tears from her eyes. She nodded her head.

Jasper watched her carefully. 

“He’s here because he’s weak.” She snarled.

“That _worm_ wasn’t corrupted by the diamonds. He didn’t corrupt himself to serve some higher ‘Crystal Gem’ purpose. He didn’t even corrupt himself to win a fight!” She spat, patting her chest proudly. 

“HE’s here because waking up every morning alone was a chore. That puny hybrid couldn’t bear to see the faces of his loved ones moving on without him.”

Jasper laughed a deep, monstrous laugh.

“ _He can’t even bear to look at himself in the mirror!_ Can you believe that? _-_ that weak, measly, pathetic-”

“STOP!” Connie shouted. 

“Steven’s not measly, or pathetic. He - He’s not…”

“Weak?” Jasper snarled, a twisted smile on her face. 

Connie could feel her heart start to race as anger filled her core. She wiped the rest of the tears from her eyes. 

_How could Jasper say all these awful things after all that Steven had done for her? He healed her corruption! She of all people should understand what he was going through._

The sound of static began to fill Connie’s mind again as she clenched her fists, the anger so strong... so consuming… She felt like she was about to explode. She noticed that the tips of her fingers were beginning to glow with a dull pink light.

_She had to save him… She had to do it for him… she had to…_

Her face, her hands… everything was glowing with hot pink energy. 

_Do it for him._

Her feet lifted off the ground.

_Do it for her._

Static filled her mind. 

_Do it for love._

With a start, she came to her senses. As soon as it had come, her anger evaporated. She dropped down to her feet, the natural color of her skin flooding back. 

_Of course - it was so obvious!_

Jasper wasn’t here. Neither were the gems, or Bluebird, or White Diamond. Her dopplegänger wasn’t real. None of this was.

They were all constructs of Steven’s damaged mind, a personification of his worst insecurities.

The grinning gem before her wasn’t a threat. It didn’t scare her. It was just Steven- and Steven would never hurt her. The only thing it _did_ do was make her sad. She felt sad that Steven believed these things enough to internalize them so deeply.

Connie reached forward.

“Steven...” she began, placing her hand on Jasper’s shoulder. At such a close distance, she could see that the gem’s eyes weren’t gold, like they should’ve been. Instead, a dark pink light shone from her sockets.

“Steven, holding these awful thoughts inside you for so long... it’s not a sign of strength, as much as you want it to be.”

Jasper stood eerily still. 

“And you know what?” She continued, gaining confidence.

“You’re right. You are weak. Keeping everything to yourself, isolating yourself from the people who care about you- It is a weakness.”

The static began to return, but Connie fought it back. She would not be drowned in the sea of their shared insecurities any longer. Her voice took on a quality of sheer determination.

“-But Steven!” She cried,

“We ALL have weaknesses. You do, I do, Stevonnie does... Jasper certainly does. Having them is _nothing_ to be ashamed of! Without weaknesses, how could you possibly learn and grow?”

Jasper’s form began to shudder.

“Steven. I love you. Flaws and all. They’re part of what makes you human. They’re part of what makes you a gem too! They’re a part of you, and a part that you shouldn’t have to hide.”

The form in front of her frantically glitched between the gems, White Diamond, Bluebird, Volleyball, Jasper, and even Connie herself. Connie held strong, refusing to flinch as the familiar faces flashed before her.

“I’m here for you, Steven. I’m here to help.”

With a boom, the form exploded in a burst of glowing white moths. Connie watched in awe as the creatures twirled and shimmered above her head. They fluttered skywards, revealing a crouched figure where Jasper once stood. Connie’s breath hitched as she glimpsed the pink fabric of a jacket; a poof of dark curly hair; 

“Steven!” She cried, rushing forwards to hug him.

The boy who sat in the center of the clearing gasped and jumped back in surprise. Connie stopped.

Steven- uncorrupted, human _Steven_ \- crouched before her. His jacket, his shirt, his hair; on the surface he looked the same as when she’d last saw him. But something was wrong. His dark brown eyes were wild. He stood on all fours, and looked up at her with a wary expression.

“Steven, it’s me... it’s Connie...”

Tears started to fill her eyes. Could it be that after all he’d gone through, that he didn’t remember her? 

Steven bared his teeth, and looked up at her. She stared back with desperate eyes. 

Suddenly, he spoke. 

“Arr yrou grtehrl frmthe pticutiur?”

The nonsense syllables hung heavily in the air.

Connie bit her lip, trying not to burst into tears in front of her friend. He’d had enough people crying on his shoulder to last him a lifetime. Instead, she looked into his eyes, searching for some kind of recognition. 

Steven seemed frustrated by her lack of reply and tried again:

“Aarrr yoou...” he started, and searched around him like he was looking for something. He lifted his hands, checking under them- then his feet. Finally, it seemed like an idea struck him and he reached into his jacket pocket. He removed a small polaroid photo of Connie and held it out towards her. 

She gasped, and nodded heartily. 

“Steven… don’t you remember?” She said, carefully crouching down to his level. He stared back with wide eyes. 

“You took this picture!” She smiled, thinking of the sweet memories the photo represented.

“It must’ve been springtime, say… four years ago. I was twelve so you were… fourteen. We had so much fun that day.” She started. 

Steven blinked. He didn’t respond, but he seemed to be listening. Connie hoped that was a good sign.

“You had your ukulele and that - heh - that cheeseburger backpack of yours.” She smiled, eyes twinkling. 

“...We sat waaaay up in the palm of the temple statue- I was scared half to death at first by the height- but with you there, all my worries seemed to… melt away. We just were.” 

Steven chuffed and scooted slightly closer.

“I remember that day so well because it was one of the first times I’d played my violin just for fun. Singing about… Jam and biscuits…” She giggled. “It was so… silly! So completely carefree and fun. Like you. You made everything so easy.” 

Steven sighed.

“We were Jam Buds.” 

He sniffled.

“We still are. Jam Buds, I mean.” Connie said, putting an arm around his shoulder. She pulled him close, and closed her eyes. 

“You mean _so much_ to me.”

She felt his arms wrap around her waist.

“I’m… I’m sorry if my turning you down last week was… difficult. But I hope you know I will never, ever leave you behind. I love you so much, Steven. Please don’t ever forget that.” 

Connie felt he shoulders shudder. He was shaking. She pulled back, worried she hurt him. She looked at his face, which shone with tears. 

Steven saw her expression, and tentatively lifted his hand to his face. He pulled back his hand, looking at the shiny tears on his fingers with wonder. He slowly looked up, his eyes in focus for the first time since Connie arrived. 

“C...Con.. _Connie?_ ” He gasped. Connie’s eyes widened.

“Steven?! D- do y-you remember me?!” She asked, breathlessly. 

“Yes!” 

_Yes._

The word echoed in her mind, filling her with so much relief- so much joy. She clutched him tight. 

“Steven! I’m so glad we… you…”

Steven hugged back.

“Connie I… I’m so sorry. I’ve caused you so much pain I... gosh, _what is going on right now_? 

“It’s okay!” Connie reassured him. “We’re fused but it’s… different. I don’t know how stable things are right no-”

A thunderous rumble roared through the air around them, and the two held tighter to one another. 

“Am I… corrupted?” He asked, as the ground trembled beneath them. 

“You were.” She replied. She could hear his heart quicken.

“But _it’s okay_. You’re okay now. All that matters right now is that you’re alright”. 

She could feel a strong pull as the pink sky began to crack open like an egg above them. She held tight to Steven’s hands. 

“Connie..!” he shouted, the rushing wind threatening to carry away his words. Ocean waves crashed in the distance.

“Steven..!” She shouted, the words tumbling from her mouth. “You have to understand that everything you’re going through right now… everything you’re dealing with- you’re not alone!” 

The wind rushed in their ears.

“You’re not responsible for everyone’s pain, Steven. You can’t help everyone- and it’s silly to try to. It’s time to let us help you. Let me help you!” 

Steven’s grip tightened on hers. He bit back tears.

“Okay.”

“You’ll let us help you?”

“Yes. Please.” 

“Thank you, Steven. I love you more than you know.” 

He looked into her eyes, and Connie swore that within them, she could see the stars. 

“I love you too.!” His palm began to slip from hers. 

Connie smiled, even though the searing pain in their eye was starting to return. With her last bit of energy, as they started to unfuse, Connie pulled herself forwards and kissed him. Steven twitched in surprise, but quickly leaned in. 

He kissed her back, and the two of them held tightly to one another for as long as they could before the shining light enveloped them completely.

___________________________________________________________________

Connie blinked awake on the shore at the beneath the cliffs. Almost immediately, she felt the ache of bruises along her back and arms; scratches on her face… HER face. Not Stevonnie’s. Not the monster’s. Just Connie.

Her muscles slackened and she let her head fall back onto the ground. Her heart fluttered rapidly against her ribcage, as if it might burst free any moment and leave her, alone and gasping on the shore. 

Through her sand-crusted eyelashes, she glimpsed the hazy shapes of Pearl and Garnet rushing up the beach towards her. They were shouting, but their words dripped like rainwater off her mind. Their words didn’t matter anyways. The only thing that mattered right now was…

She grunted, and painstakingly turned her head to look beside her. She saw a tuft of black hair. A ripped pink jacket. 

_Steven._

He was here… he was uncorrupted, he was _himself_. She groaned and reached out for him, so relieved to have him back.

She gasped when her hand came back red. Blood… so much blood… 

She was so happy to see him uncorrupted that she hadn’t even considered the injuries he’d suffered. His mind had been healed, but now _his body_ of all things threatened to fail him.

“Ss..Stevennn…” Connie sobbed, wrapping her arms around him. 

Then hands, so many hands emerged from around them. A pair of maroon arms wrapped around her midsection, and she was gently lifted off the ground. A soft purple hand held her own. A pale hand stroked Steven’s hair. Suddenly, they were moving- sprinting. She could see the ground rushing past them, streaks of red staining the sand beneath Garnet's feet. She held tight to her friend, his body still warm in her arms.

“P..ppleaasse…” She cried, nails digging into his jacket. 

She wasn’t sure whether it was the steady thumping of Garnet’s heels on the beach, or her exhausted mind playing tricks on her, but for a moment- just one moment- she swore she could hear a pulse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! The end is here!  
> This essentially concludes "a corrupted soul"- though there will be an epilogue.
> 
> Heck! This turned out to be (by far) the longest and most difficult chapter to write. But hey!! It's out before the finale airs!! Yee-haw.....
> 
> Thank you to so much everyone who has commented and supported this fic along the way. It really means a lot to hear your sweet words. 
> 
> There will be one more chapter (the epilogue), but it'll be a good while before that's out. I've really burned myself out trying to get the bulk of this fic done before tonight at 7pm. oof. 
> 
> But that about concludes it! I hope y'all enjoy, and feel free to let me know if there are any typos! (Due to rushing this out so quickly). 
> 
> Take care!
> 
> EDIT: I thought the finale was o the 20th, not the 27th .-.


End file.
